TRIBUTES have been paid to British-born writer, critic and journalist Christopher Hitchens, who has died of cancer, aged 62.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who held a memorable head-to-head debate about religion with Hitchens last year, said he was "an extraordinary, compelling and colourful human being" while Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who once worked for the writer, said he was "infuriating, brilliant, highly provocative and yet intensely serious".

An outspoken atheist known for his trademark putdowns and controversial views – he once described Mother Teresa as a "lying, thieving Albanian dwarf" – Hitchens had been undergoing chemotherapy since being diagnosed with oesophageal cancer last year. He died on Thursday night at the MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, Texas.

Mr Blair said: "Christopher Hitchens was a complete one-off, an amazing mixture of writer, journalist, polemicist, and unique character.

"He was fearless in the pursuit of truth and any cause in which he believed. And there was no belief he held that he did not advocate with passion, commitment and brilliance."

Mr Clegg said: "Christopher Hitchens was everything a great essayist should be: infuriating, brilliant, highly provocative and yet intensely serious.

"I worked as an intern for him years ago. My job was to fact-check his articles. Since he had a photographic memory and an encyclopaedic mind it was the easiest job I've ever done."

Graydon Carter, editor of Vanity Fair, where Hitchens was a contributing editor, paid tribute yesterday on the magazine's website, describing Hitchens as "a wit, a charmer and a troublemaker".

"To those who knew him well, he was a gift from, dare I say, God," said Mr Carter, referring to Hitchens's running commentaries on his disbelief in God.

In one column following his diagnosis he wrote of how his conviction in the lack of an afterlife remained unshaken, saying: "No evidence or argument has yet been presented that would change my mind. But I like surprises."

Hitchens, brother of writer Peter Hitchins, began his career working for the Times Higher Education supplement before going on to work for the New Statesman, where he became friends with authors Ian McEwan and Martin Amis.

He emigrated to the US in 1981 where he became known for his excoriating critiques of Henry Kissinger, George Bush snr and both Bill and Hillary Clinton.

However, he was perhaps best known for his atheism, achieving celebrity status in his adopted homeland – he became a US citizen in 2007 – with the publication of his book, God is Not Great, which branded organised religion "violent, irrational, intolerant ... and hostile to free inquiry".

British science writer Richard Dawkins, also an outspoken atheist, paid tribute to his friend with a message posted on Twitter yesterday. He said: "Christopher Hitchens, finest orator of our time, fellow horseman, valiant fighter against all tyrants including God."

Toby Mundy, the chief executive of his UK publishers Atlantic Books, said: "There is no-one like Christopher Hitchens. He was the most brilliant and versatile non-fiction writer of modern times, whose prodigious output was of stunningly high quality, a showcase for his vast range, deep knowledge and fierce wit."

A memoir, called Mortality and based on essays in Vanity Fair about his struggle with cancer, will be published next year.

American pastor Rick Warren, who delivered the invocation at President Barack Obama's inauguration, wrote: "My friend Christopher Hitchens has died. I loved and prayed for him constantly and grieve his loss. He knows the Truth now."