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An up-to-date page so you can keep track of all the UK’s national newspaper editors.
By Charlotte Tobitt
The Independent has a new editor following the appointment of Geordie Greig, formerly of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and Evening Standard.
His appointment comes a few months after Tony Gallagher took over at The Times from John Witherow, who was editor for almost a decade.
That shake-up came just a month after the Sunday Express gained a new editor in David Wooding, not long after the departure of Evening Standard acting editor Charlotte Ross, and less than a year since both Mail titles gained new editors.
As it stands, 55% of the UK’s national newspaper editors-in-chief are men and 45% are women – an historic high for gender equality. The female editors are: Emma Tucker at The Sunday Times, The Guardian’s Katharine Viner, the Mirror’s Alison Phillips, the FT’s Roula Khalaf and The Sun’s Victoria Newton.
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When including all editors (for example, Sunday editors who report to seven-day editors-in-chief) in the count, 65% are men.
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Press Gazette has put together a round-up of the UK’s national newspaper editors as they stand (in no particular order). We will keep this list updated.
Tony Gallagher was appointed editor of The Times on 28 September 2022 following the resignation of John Witherow the day before.
Gallagher was promoted from deputy editor, and had already been acting as caretaker editor for several months while Witherow was on medical leave.
Gallagher joined The Times in February 2020 from fellow News UK title The Sun where he was editor for five years. He has also previously edited The Daily Telegraph between 2009 and 2014.
Emma Tucker has led The Sunday Times since January 2020 after former editor Martin Ivens stepped down after seven years.
Tucker had previously been deputy editor at The Times.
However in December it was announced Tucker will be leaving, but staying within the News Corp stable, to edit the Wall Street Journal. She will begin the new role on 1 February 2023 but her successor at The Sunday Times has not yet been announced.
Ted Verity has edited the Daily Mail since November 2021, having previously been at the helm of the Mail on Sunday since 2018 and deputy at the daily paper before that.
He is editor-in-chief of Mail Newspapers, meaning he has overall responsibility for the Mail brands in a seven-day operation.
Following Verity’s promotion, David Dillon was appointed to be Mail on Sunday editor in December 2021. He was previously Verity’s deputy.
Dillon first joined the Mail on Sunday from the Daily Express in 2001, working as news editor for a number of years before being promoted to executive editor.
Victoria Newton has been editor-in-chief of The Sun since February 2020. She had been editor at The Sun on Sunday since 2013 but took over from Gallagher when he left The Sun for The Times.
Newton has maintained responsibility for the Sunday title in her editor-in-chief role.
Alison Phillips is editor-in-chief of the Mirror titles and editor of the Daily Mirror.
Phillips has edited the Daily Mirror since March 2018 and became editor-in-chief of that plus the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People in February 2020 with their move to a seven-day operation.
Before leading the Mirror, Phillips edited Trinity Mirror’s failed national newspaper launch of The New Day in 2016 and was then deputy editor-in-chief of the three Mirror titles.
Under the leadership of Phillips, Gemma Aldridge has edited the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People since March 2021.
She is also a deputy editor of the daily title and her previous roles included features editor and assistant editor of the two Sunday titles.
Chris Evans has been editor of The Telegraph since January 2014 after the sacking of Tony Gallagher. He has been with The Telegraph since 2007, with previous roles including news editor and head of news, after joining from the Daily Mail where he spent 11 years.
Although Evans has ultimate editorial responsibility at The Telegraph, Allister Heath has edited The Sunday Telegraph since 2017, having previously been Telegraph deputy editor.
Gary Jones has led the Daily Express since March 2018 following Mirror owner Reach’s takeover of the paper. He had previously edited the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People.
Unusually for the Express Jones supports Labour and voted for Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum. But he has spoken of how he made it his mission to turn the Express into a more positive force for good and less offensive, saying it had “come a long way” in his first three years as editor.
In August 2022 David Wooding left The Sun on Sunday where he was political editor to become editor of the Sunday Express. He had spent 25 years as a political journalist.
He succeeded Mick Booker, who left at the end of 2021 to become editorial director at GB News.
Katharine Viner has been editor-in-chief at The Guardian since 2015, when she was voted by staff to take over from Alan Rusbridger. She was previously editor-in-chief at The Guardian’s US edition.
Under Viner’s leadership, Paul Webster edits The Observer. Viner appointed him to the role in 2018, after 20 years as deputy at the Sunday paper.
Oly Duff has been editor-in-chief of the i since June 2013, when he became the UK’s youngest national newspaper editor aged 29 – a title he maintains today.
Roula Khalaf has edited The Financial Times since January 2020, when she succeeded Lionel Barber who spent 14 years as editor.
Khalaf had been Barber’s deputy since 2016 and her previous roles at the FT included foreign editor and Middle East editor. She first joined the business newspaper in 1995.
Jon Clark has been seven-day editor-in-chief at the Daily Star since March 2018 after the paper was bought by Reach (then Trinity Mirror). He was previously associate editor at the Daily Mirror from 2013.
Under Clark’s leadership, Denis Mann edits the Daily Star on Sunday and is a deputy on the daily. He has similarly held the role since March 2018.
Geordie Greig was appointed as editor-in-chief of the digital-only The Independent in January 2023, just over a year after being ousted from editing the Daily Mail. He has previously edited the Mail on Sunday, Evening Standard and Tatler.
He took over at The Independent from David Marley, who had been acting editor since October 2020 when Christian Broughton was promoted to managing director.
UK free newspaper Metro has been edited by Ted Young since 2014, when he joined from editing the New York Daily News.
He told Press Gazette of his mission in 2021: “We try and provide basic news and showbiz and features – we aren’t looking to win any awards, we just want to be a good commuter newspaper and provide information…”
Jack Lefley has been acting editor at London freesheet the Evening Standard since July 2022.
Lefley replaced Charlotte Ross, who had been acting editor since October 2021. Her departure meant the Standard clocked up its fourth editor or acting editor in just over two years following the departures of George Osborne and Emily Sheffield.
Lefley first joined the Standard as a reporter in 2006 before moving onto roles including news editor, head of news and executive editor.
London business newspaper has been edited by Andy Silvester since late 2020 when former editor Christian May left the title after five years.
Silvester had been deputy since August 2019 and was formerly a Sun PR and leader writer for two years. He also has experience heading up campaigns at the Taxpayers’ Alliance and the Institute of Directors.
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