Anthony Louis Banks, Baron Stratford (8 April 1942[1] – 8 January 2006) was a British politician who served as Minister for Sport from 1997 to 1999.

He also suggested that the football teams of the four constituent parts of the UK should merge to compete in the Olympic Games,[4] as eventually occurred in 2012.

[5][6] Banks also offended Scotland's supporters by describing the team as the "West Ham of world football - they never quite perform to their potential"[5] Among Banks's ministerial responsibilities were listed buildings, and he approved controversial additions including the 1930s Three Magpies pub in Birmingham[7] and numerous redundant NHS buildings.

[9] He also controversially approved the demolition of the Twin Towers as part of the redevelopment of Wembley Stadium, dismissively referring to them as "concrete blocks".

[10] After two years in office he stepped down to become the Prime Minister's envoy for England's bid to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

From then until his retirement from the Commons in 2005 Banks remained a backbencher, though he made a failed bid to become Labour's candidate in the election for Mayor of London in 2004.

He was regarded as on the left of Labour, being a republican, an opponent of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and a member of the Socialist Campaign Group.

His only speeches regarding the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan involved requests for government money and the help of the Royal Navy for the animals of the Kabul Zoo, particularly for Marjan, an elderly lion that needed air-conditioning for its rheumatism.

Three days later, in an interview with Robin Oakley on BBC Radio 4, he said "To be honest, I found it intellectually numbing and tedious in the extreme.

In 2003, when Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea FC, he expressed his disapproval, "We need to look at the source of his money, what his track record has been in Russia, to establish whether he is a fit and proper person to take over a football club in this country.

On 7 January 2006, Banks was reported to have collapsed two days earlier after suffering a massive stroke while having lunch on Sanibel Island in Florida, where he was on holiday.

[31] His funeral was held on 21 January at the City of London Crematorium: John Prescott, Tessa Jowell, Margaret Beckett, Alastair Campbell, Tony Benn, Chris Smith and Richard Caborn attended.

[32] Following her husband's death, Lady Stratford vowed to continue his animal rights work, leading a campaign against the culling of seal pups in Canada.

His death on 8 January 2006 was referenced in the first series of The Ricky Gervais Show as part of Karl Pilkington's diary of his holiday to Gran Canaria.