My former colleague Neil Rafferty was on BBC Radio Scotland this morning discussing the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

A former Sunday Times journalist, Neil was spokesman for Forest in Scotland before The Daily Mash (the satirical website he founded with fellow journalist Paul Stokes) became a full-time occupation.

Neil now lives in France so he was in a good position to comment on events in Paris.

Describing what happened as "sickening", he talked of a "deep sense of despair" and said he felt a "strong sense of solidarity with Charlie Hebdo and everybody who believes in freedom of expression".

I particularly liked his very honest assessment that the satirists at Charlie Hebdo are "braver than I am".

"Satire," he added, "is important, it's necessary, it's a hugely positive thing in society. We've just got to stick to our guns."

You can listen to the interview here. It begins at 01:35:40.