Tam Dalyell has been a constant critic of Labour's wars

The 72-year-old outgoing Labour MP for Linlithgow said he was not as sad as he thought he would be, and added: "There is a time for everything in life."

Mr Dalyell, who was first elected to the Commons in 1962, also bemoaned the rise of the professional politician.

Too many MPs in the last Parliament had worked only in politics, the outgoing Father of the House said.

I shall miss very much indeed everything about it Gillian Shephard Tory MP, Norfolk South West, on standing down Joining and leaving the Commons

"There is everything to be said for having a range of experience.

"I feel that (in) the present House of Commons - too many of them have just been politicians."

He said he believed MPs should be required to work for five years before they joined the Commons.

Mr Dalyell, who has himself repeatedly fallen out with the Labour leadership, criticised party whips for becoming "too patronage-orientated".

Mr Dalyell, who clashed with Tony Blair over Iraq, said he would campaign at the coming general election for anti-war MPs and those who he believed had done a good job.

Despite disagreements with Mr Blair, however, Mr Dalyell said he was sincerely hoping for a Labour win.

Belgrano

Mr Dalyell is well known for the so-called West Lothian Question - his prediction that devolution would fuel resentment if Scottish MPs continued to vote on matters which affected only England.

He achieved a high national profile for pursuing Margaret Thatcher over the circumstances surrounding the sinking of the Argentine battleship the General Belgrano during the Falklands conflict.

A dispute with Commons Speaker Michael Martin over the government's so-called "dodgy" dossier on Iraq in February, 2003, led to him being ordered out of the House.

Reflecting on his departure, he said he was more upset in 1979 when scores of his colleagues lost their seats in the Conservative landslide.

Mr Dalyell, whose Linlithgow constituency is due to disappear because of boundary changes, entered Parliament when Tory Harold Macmillan was prime minister.