Paul Foot

There are countless tributes to Paul Foot out there; all of them are far more eloquent than I can manage. One I saw on the BBC website stood out, not because it particularly concords with my own view, but simply because of its honest contrariness:
 

From my Conservative viewpoint, I found most of Paul Foot's views pretty barmy. It's interesting though that none of the criticisms currently being thrown at people like Michael Moore - that they 'edit' around the facts and distort to get their story - were ever really flung at Paul Foot, or at least never stuck. He was a first-class journalist who did the research and said it straight and honest as he saw it. Democracies and politicians do need that kind of scrutiny and there are too few like Paul Foot to provide it. You don't have to like someone to respect and value them.
Councillor Jeremy Kite, Dartford, Kent

 
I'd seen Paul at Marxism this year, as exceptional a speaker as ever,  and spoke to him very briefly afterwards. His death seems horribly sudden; a terrible loss to journalism, to the labour movement, and to all those who fight for a better world.