The former editor of The Observer will tackle the topic of how Britain recovers itself after the recession at De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester this week.

Will Hutton, who is now Vice Executive Chair of The Work Foundation, visits the University on Wednesday 10 March as part of its Distinguished Lecture Series 2010, in celebration of the official opening of the Business and Law Faculty's Hugh Aston Building. He will discuss employment and how Britain will recover from the economic downturn, in a talk entitled, "The mess we are in and how we get out of it."

The Work Foundation is the leading independent authority on work and its future. It aims to improve the quality of working life and the effectiveness of organisations by equipping leaders, policymakers and opinion-formers with evidence, advice, new thinking and networks.

The former Political Journalist of the Year, said: "The suddenness and depth of the recession has raised questions about the workability of capitalism not seen since the 1930s.

"One of the constraints on recovery is the growing belief that if the old model did not work and there is no new one on offer. Reconstructing a bust financial system is not just a technical question. It cannot be done without a wholescale revision of the wider system and values on which it is based. And fairness must be placed at the heart of the new capitalism if our society is to recover its values."

Will Hutton has also worked in BBC TV and Radio as producer and reporter; he spent four years as editor for The Observer and still writes a regular column for the publication.

Will Hutton has written several best-selling economic books including The State We're In and The Writing on the Wall: China and the West in the 21st Century. His latest book, Them and Us is due for publication in the Autumn.