Former BBC election expert Professor Anthony King has died at the age of 82.

Prof King was born in Canada but moved to the UK in the 1950s and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where he gained a doctorate in politics.

He went on to become one of Britain's leading experts in the political sciences and helped lead the BBC's election coverage for more than 20 years.

He wrote extensively on the people and trends that have shaped Parliament over the past 50 years, including the history of the Social Democratic Party, Margaret Thatcher's leadership style and the rise of the career politician.

He analysed opinion polls for The Daily Telegraph for many years and was the BBC analyst on its election night coverage from 1983 to 2005.

Journalists paid tribute to Prof King on Twitter.

The Guardian's associate editor, Martin Kettle, wrote: "Death this morning of Anthony King, Essex professor, BBC psephologist, prolific writer, husband of Jan, most generous of friends. #tonyking"

Peter Riddell, the Commissioner for Public Appointments and a former political journalist, wrote: "#tonyking bridged the worlds of academia, the media and public policy, always stimulating company with fresh insights."