A former regional daily journalist known as a “friend to the foreign correspondent” had died.

Tributes have been paid to Pat Ferguson, left, who began his career at the Yorkshire Post before going on to a career in national and international media.

Pat went on to work at the Associated Press, The Observer and The Independent, where he was foreign news editor and associate foreign editor until 1996.

A life member of the National Union of Journalists, he was also world news desk Americas editor for the Financial Times prior to his retirement in 2009.

James Lamont, FT managing editor, said many colleagues would remember Pat “as a fount of knowledge, a meticulous guarantor of quality and a friend to the foreign correspondent”.

Away from journalism, Pat appeared on University Challenge and Brain of Britain. In retirement, he also enjoyed volunteering and guiding at Hampton Court Palace.

His funeral is due to take place on Friday 16 June at 10.30am at St. Francis de Sales church, 16 Wellington Road, Hampton Hill, Middlesex.

He will be buried at Shacklegate Lane cemetery after the service, followed by reception in the Red Lion, 164 Stanley Road, Teddington, TW11 8UD.