I am sad to report that Colin Grainger has passed away. One can only begin to imagine the pain his family and friends are feeling. Colin was a former Chairman of Freedom2Choose, soon after our inception in 2007. Tributes have poured in to celebrate the life of a man who fought for the freedom of others, these are typical.

Anna Raccoon ‏@AnnaRaccoon1 4h4 hours agoRIP @CaptainRanty – A long time good friend to me. An original Libertarian.

Old Holborn ‏@Holbornlolz 5h5 hours agoWell, that’s some shit news. RIP @CaptainRanty So long Colin. And thanks.

A man who pioneered F2C as a presence in the media and steered us into the mainstream. I always remembered us working on a letter to Jeremy Clarkson asking for his support. Clarkson did not reply but in his Sun column he referred to us as a “half arsed organisation, which I hope are fully arsed soon.”

Colin worked in Africa in sales. He was always posting pictures of bars where smoking was allowed, making me envious.

Colin had a marvellous sense of honour and humour. An intelligent and thoughtful a man who immediately earned your respect though never made you feel in debt because of it. A good friend, a powerful colleague and sorely missed already.

Colin will not only be remembered for his fine work but also his wonderful family. His lasting legacy is our respect and those who would control our lives had much more to fight. Freedom2Choose would like to pass on our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends to a quite magnificent man.

RIP Colin Grainger 1962 – 2015