The distinguished BBC correspondent Brian Barron, who began his career on a regional paper at the age of 16, has died after a battle with cancer.

Brian started out as a reporter on the Western Daily Press in the late 1950s before moving to the BBC in 1965.

He subsequently became one of the best-known faces on TV as the BBC’s man in some of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones.

His assignments included the Falklands Conflict, Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles’, the Vietnam War, the Cambodian genocide of Pol Pot, the civil war in Rhodesia, the 1991 Gulf War, and most recently the 2003 Iraq war.

He also reported on the demise of the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, with whom he later conducted a famous interview.

His final report for the BBC in 2007 was a return to Aden, 40 years after he covered the end of British rule there in 1967.

BBC World News editor Jon Williams said today: “He was simply the most distinguished BBC correspondent of our age”.

Brian died at his home in Cornwall surrounded by his family. He was survived by his wife Angela and daughter Fleur.