Have I Got News For You pays tribute to Charles Kennedy

Have I Got News For You has paid a warm tribute to the late former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy.

The cutting BBC show honoured its sometime presenter and panellist by ending with clips of Kennedy's time on the programme.

As guest host Jack Dee read out the final scores, he told viewers: "Of course the scores have always been hotly contested on this show.

"Here's a friend of the show who always had the right attitude even when he hadn't won."

The programme then cut to a vintage clip of a fresh-faced Kennedy joking that he would have been "very happy" to come second.

In a second, more recent clip the politician traded barbs with former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson after being asked about Government plans to imprison bankers.

Kennedy replied: "It's a bit stupid for David Cameron to suggest this, he hasn't got anywhere to put them for a start and probably most of them are voting Tory in the first place, aren't they Jeremy?"

After Clarkson replied that he could not understand Scottish, Kennedy said: "Don't worry Jeremy, most people watching this in Scotland can't understand voting Tory either."

Fans of the show praised the homage for showing Kennedy's humanity and humour.

The results of a post-mortem examination released yesterday revealed Kennedy had suffered a "major haemorrhage" as the result of his long battle with alcoholism.