Tony Benn died this morning. News report here.

I was lucky enough to meet him after "An Audience with…" in Buxton, where he was typically forthright in his views and fielded questions from the audience about a range of subjects, including his role in the development of Concorde. I found him an inquisitive and most respectful chap, who asked me how I earned my living and shook my hand firmly, and even though he was simply signing books he took time to speak to each person as an individual.

We won't see his like again in British politics. He was a weathercock, not a a sheep and most of all he genuinely valued truth and whether you agreed with him or not had integrity and a weight of intellect that meant his opponents often ended up simply calling him names.

He was an actual, real politician and the world is a poorer place because of his passing.