Of all the characteristics that defined Rod Liddle, none was as befitting as his devoted support of Millwall FC, whose anthem, sung loudly and proudly, is: “No one likes us/We don’t care”. As a journalist, commentator, and person about town, Rod was equally unworried whether he was popular or even palatable.

Throughout his life, which ended at the age of 66 on Sunday, he spoke what he deemed to be the truth, was uncompromising in his demeanour and simply didn’t care whether people liked it or not. He would stare political consensus and social norms in the face, and would usually run in the opposite direction.

He and I inhabited very different points of the political spectrum, and certainly his views on multiculturalism and immigration (particularly as he got older), and Brexit, were not to the taste of anyone with a liberal bent. But he was a truly original thinker, and a brilliant journalist, who could find humour (often of the dark variety) in the most unpromising of subjects.

Rod was an independent spirit, and it was this quality that drew us together for one of the most bizarre days of my life. It was back in 2011, when I was........

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