Very sad news that the former Liberal MP Clement Freud has died. Nick Clegg said:

Clement Freud was part of a generation of larger than life figures who kept the Liberal Party alive through thick and thin.

It is astonishing to remember all the things he did, all the things he was; wit, raconteur, politician, chef, advertiser of dog food, writer, comedian, a devoted father, husband and grandfather and someone who could never resist a flutter.

They don’t make people like that anymore and he will be sorely missed by millions.

For all his political and other achievements, the memory that most sticks in my mind is the look on his face when Paul Merton started stripping in front of him in an attempt to distract him during a special anniversary recording of Just a Minute. Thankfully, he was distracted and the stripping stopped before it got as far as Paul Merton’s trousers. The very fact that he continued to be such a successful comedian long beyond the point at which most people are considered past it, and their humour to be of a different age, is but one of many testaments to his skill and achievements.