MPs backed Nelson Mandela as their political hero

Of the 150 MPs who took part in the survey for the Independent, 18% backed the former South African president.

Conservative Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill were in joint second place.

Among Labour MPs, NHS architect Aneurin Bevan came out on top, followed by Tony Blair, who got the most backing of any serving politician.

Mr Mandela, one of the world's most revered statesmen, led the struggle to replace the apartheid regime of South Africa with a multi-racial democracy.

Tory backs Blair

He was jailed for almost three decades under South Africa's apartheid regime but went on to become the country's first black president.

Among his awards he counts the Nobel Peace Prize and Amnesty International's most prestigious human rights award.

Tory leader David Cameron received the vote of just one Conservative MP, while another Tory named Mr Blair as their favourite. Baroness Thatcher was the top choice among the Conservatives as a whole.

Cuba's communist leader Fidel Castro - who is understood to be gravely ill - got the backing of another, Labour, MP.

Andrew Hawkins, chief executive of CommunicateResearch, who carried out the research in June 2006, said: "When it comes to hero worshipping, MPs revert to their parties' icons.

"What's striking is the low scores for serving politicians - with the notable exception of Tony Blair."