Pioneering gay rabbi dies

Rabbi Deborah Kahn-Harris, principal of Leo Baeck College, said: “She was an inspirational teacher whose sharp intellect will be deeply missed.

“She brought more people into the rabbinate in the past 20 years than any other person.”

A spokesperson for Reform Judaism said: “We are deeply saddened by the death of Rabbi Sheila Shulman.

“Her contribution to the development of an inclusive and diverse Judaism in this country is enormous. May her memory be a blessing and an inspiration.”

Rabbi Shulman was originally from Brooklyn but lived in Britain for more than 30 years, settling in Ladbroke Grove.