US War Hero John McCain Dies At 81

US Senator and war hero John McCain has died at the age of 81.

Mr McCain's office said he died on Saturday following his battle with brain cancer.

His family had previously said that the one-time presidential candidate would be ending medical treatment.

US president Donald Trump has paid tribute to Mr McCain.

Writing on Twitter, he said: "My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain. Our hearts and prayers are with you!"

Mr McCain's wife Cindy said she was heartbroken by the death of an "incredible man".

In a post on Twitter, she said: "My heart is broken. I am so lucky to have lived the adventure of loving this incredible man for 38 years. He passed the way he lived, on his own terms, surrounded by the people he loved, in the the place he loved best."

Daughter Meghan McCain described her father as a "great fire who burned bright". She said: 

"We lived in his light and warmth for so very long. We know that his flame lives on, in each of us."

She added: "His love and his care, ever present, always unfailing, took me from a girl to a woman - and he showed me what it is to be a man."

John Sidney McCain III was born in 1936 in the Panama Canal zone, where his father was stationed in the military.

He attended the US Naval Academy and in October 1967, Mr McCain was on his 23rd bombing run over North Vietnam when he was shot out of the sky and taken prisoner.

He refused an early release offered by his captors as a propaganda ploy.

Later, his will broken by beatings, Mr McCain signed a confession. That was his darkest hour in captivity. But his recovery from that episode taught him to trust himself, he later wrote.

Mr McCain's fellow POWs appointed him camp entertainment officer, chaplain and communications chief. To them, he imparted comic relief, literary tutorials, news of the day - and even religious sustenance.

Mr McCain returned home from his years as a POW on crutches and never regained full mobility in his arms and leg.

Barack Obama, who beat Mr McCain in the 2008 presidential election, said the senator had shown what it meant "to put the greater good above our own".

He said: John McCain and I were members of different generations, came from completely different backgrounds, and competed at the highest level of politics.

"But we shared, for all our differences, a fidelity to something higher - the ideals for which generations of Americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched, and sacrificed.

"We saw our political battles, even, as a privilege, something noble, an opportunity to serve as stewards of those high ideals at home, and to advance them around the world.

"We saw this country as a place where anything is possible - and citizenship as our patriotic obligation to ensure it forever remains that way."

Former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton paid tribute to Mr McCain as a "tough politician" and "trusted colleague", saying there will never be another like him.

David Cameron hailed Mr McCain as a "great defender of liberty".

The former prime minister said: "The USA has lost a brave, principled and inspiring leader. The world has lost a great defender of liberty.

"RIP Senator John McCain. Prayers and love to your family."