George Monbiot comes out fighting on 'Left Hook' tour

The opening bout between Monbiot and his critics took place at Warwick Arts Centre, where he proved a deft fighter

Plastered on the campus walls leading to Warwick Arts Centre are student posters offering two very different meetings. One publicises UK Uncut, the grassroots movement against corporate tax dodging, the other an economic summit sponsored by RBS, Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Barclays Wealth. And both in their contrasting ways also feature in "Gentleman" George Monbiot's Left Hook tour.

On Wednesday night I joined about a hundred people at the centre for the opening night of the tour. Billed as the "Guardian newspaper's unbeaten intellectual heavyweight champion of free speech", it is the first time in many years Monbiot has been on the road. And while admitting to some pre-fight nerves, he was also clearly relishing the opportunity to pit his wits against all comers on any subject.