Andrew Webster, a former London editor for United Newspapers, Lobby correspondent and chairman of the Newspaper Conference, has died, aged 80.

Always known as Drew, he retired in the early 1980s having been awarded an OBE for services to journalism, particularly the training of young journalists.

As a young reporter in Glasgow he was known for his speedy shorthand and silver tongue, and met his future wife Jan, when they were both reporting at the Police court there.

The couple moved to London where Drew began to specialise in politics, eventually becoming a Lobby correspondent at Westminster.

He was Chairman of the Newspaper Conference in 1968, and made a name for himself within the Parliamentary Press Gallery as a forthright champion of newspapermen's rights.

Paying tribute to Drew, Colin Brannigan, a former national President of the Guild of Editors who edited The Star, Sheffield, when owned by United, said: "Drew was from an era when spin was unheard of.

"He personified tact, integrity and the protection of sources, which Drew would have regarded simply as confidentiality. He preferred knowledge to rumour.

"It may seem old-fashioned if not out-dated today, but it was this blend that opened doors for him within Parliament and Whitehall which might have remained closed to others."

Drew's wife Jan, a successful novelist, died in October last year. He is survived by his daughter Lyn, and his son, Stephen.

His funeral will be held on Tuesday, March 4.

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