Rod Liddle was a caustic but crucial voice on the madness of modern Britain and the explosive issues of gender & race

NEWSPAPER pundits are ten a penny. They come and they go, often without trace. The Sun’s Rod Liddle by contrast is simply irreplaceable. Rod’s tragic and untimely death at 66 robs us of a controversial, caustic but crucial voice Credit: Getty His weekly columns took a fiercely hilarious poke at the cant and hypocrisy of polarised UK politics Credit: Alamy Rod’s tragic and untimely death at 66 robs us of a controversial, caustic but crucial voice on the madness that is modern Britain. His weekly columns, much missed in recent times, took a fiercely hilarious poke at the cant and hypocrisy of polarised UK politics. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! He loved to flirt with danger, deliberately skating on thin ice over such explosive issues as gender, race and religion. “His columns make the hair stand up on the back of your neck,” said one veteran editor. He loved to flirt with danger, deliberately skating on thin ice over such explosive issues Credit: Alamy Liddle’s columns on politics, football and rock ‘n’ roll won fierce loyalty from his readers Credit: Alamy They also made us laugh out loud – a rare and precious talent. Our star columnist would have been deeply moved by the expressions of public grief as the shock news of his death broke this afternoon. Tributes more usually associated with the death of a famous pop star flashed non-stop across our screens. Rod Liddle earned their affection by speaking in their name, pricking the pomposity of po-faced trans-fanatics and puncture the absurdity of Gay Pride pro-Gaza marchers. Most read in The Sun His prolific views on race, immigration and multiculturalism constantly landed him in hot water, his favourite spot. His far-sighted 2005 C4 broadcast, Immigration is a Time Bomb, was denounced by race warriors. Liddle’s columns on politics, football – he was a Millwall supporter – and rock ‘n’ roll won fierce loyalty from his readers of The Sun, the Spectator, The Sunday Times and Times Radio where he had a regular Saturday slot. I like to claim a hand in his popular role as a newspaper columnist, suggesting his first column for The Sun in 2012. His prolific views constantly landed him in hot water, his favourite spot Credit: Gary Stone – The Sun Rod Liddle makes his views heard during The Times marriage foundation discussion panel Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd But he soon eclipsed me and would have been a star in any publication that chose to use his material. His first outing was a typically ferocious attack on the BBC over the Jimmy Savile scandal, headlined: “Liar, Liar, Aunt’s on Fire”. Rod’s criticism was all the more effective because of his experience as a precociously young editor of the BBC Today programme. Rod parted company with the Beeb when executives tried to ban him from writing newspaper articles clashing with broadcasting policy. His first outing was a typically ferocious attack on the BBC Credit: John Lawrence Our star columnist would have been deeply moved by the expressions of public grief Credit: John Lawrence Liddle was proudly working class, working at 16 as a reporter on the South Wales Echo where he wrote his first column – about rock music. But he was formidably bright and took a degree in social psychology as a mature student at the prestigious London School of Economics. His politics began on the far left, first with the Socialist Workers Party, then as a mainstream Labour supporter and writing speeches for the party of the Labour Party. But he joined the breakaway Social Democratic Party and in 2019 suggested the election election be held on a Muslim religious holiday to reduce the Labour vote. Perhaps surprisingly, given his scepticism, he was a practising Christian and wrote extensively about faith, not least Islam. He was also a big softie, a lifelong animal rights campaigner who detested the hunting of foxes, fish, hares and badgers for pleasure. For Rod Liddle his right to say so and to write about them in a free press was sacred. We will miss him enormously. 1 comment1