Theresa May paid tribute to Warwick student Alexander Paul

Aspiring politician, Alexander Paul, was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer in 2016. Before the diagnosis, Alexander suffered from a seizure and was left in a coma whilst studying at the university.

Alexander received tremendous support after his diagnosis, with over £56,000 raised via a crowdfunding page. This money was put towards helping him be able to receive experimental treatment in Germany.

During an interview with The Tab in January of this year, Alexander and his mother, Joanna, spoke of how overwhelmed they were by all of the support that he had been given. Celebrities Lauren Pope and Little Mix expressed kind words of sympathy, with Theresa May also contacting the student to wish him well.

Alexander had previously met with Theresa May at the Conservative Party Conference in 2014 where he gave a speech against police stop and search tactics. He spoke about his own experiences, having been stopped and searched more than 20 times from the age of 13, despite having no criminal history.

Alexander greatly admired Theresa May, telling The Tab that "she was doing a good job at a difficult time". His admiration was reciprocal, with the Prime Minister describing him as "inspiring" after his speech in 2014.

During her keynote speech, given at the Conservative Party Conference held at Manchester on Wednesday, Mrs May paid tribute to the young politician.

The Prime Minister said, "I am sad to have to tell you that last year, Alexander – who inspired us all with his passion – was diagnosed with brain cancer. And in June of this year he tragically passed away. He was just 21.

"Let us today remember the courage he showed in coming to our conference to speak out against injustice, take pride that we gave him a platform – and inspired by his example, redouble our efforts to give a voice to the voiceless at every opportunity."

The Prime Minister went on to say that his rousing speech had contributed to The Conservative Party reducing the number of black males being stopped and searched by two thirds.

Alexander's university tutors also paid tribute to him, commenting on his "kindness, bravery and desire to help those from less fortunate backgrounds."

Images were taken by Andy Gray/ashmorevisuals