A former Belfast Telegraph editor has been awarded an honorary degree recognising his services to journalism.

Edmund Curran was given the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (DLitt) by the University of Ulster on Tuesday after spending his whole career working at the title.

He joined the Telegraph in 1968 as a graduate trainee reporter and worked his way up to the editor’s chair, a position he held for 12 years before becoming editor-in-chief.

Edmund was awarded an OBE in 2006 and since retiring, he has written a regular column for the paper and remains a board member for the National Council for the Training of Journalists.