Brian Barder, whom I had known since student days, was the least pompous of diplomats. He had great self-confidence – he was much at ease with himself and had a happy family life – and an acute sense of humour. (At Cambridge, he had written for Footlights.)

In his first home posting, as assistant head of the West African department, he urged during the civil war in Nigeria that Britain should use its leverage more forcefully with the federal government to negotiate an agreement with Biafra. In Lagos as high commissioner 20 years later, he challenged his instructions from the Ministry of Defence to promote even more arms sales to the Nigerians when the latter did not need them and could not afford to pay for them, and when we were giving them aid and encouraging them to be less spendthrift. Answer came there none.

In retirement he took up many causes from indeterminate sentences, detention orders, Kosovo, Iraq and Brexit (against) to a federal UK and the independence of MPs (for), pursuing them singlemindedly in his blog, but never taking himself too seriously. Some of the strongest ripostes came from close friends, but they never affected his friendships with them.