The trade body for the regional and national press has poached a new legal and policy chief from the BBC.

The News Media Association has appointed has announced that Sayra Tekin will take over from Santha Rasaiah as its legal, policy and regulatory affairs director when Santha retires at the end of this year.

Sayra, pictured, is an experienced legal advice and litigation lawyer at the BBC, who has been proactive at lobbying courts and regulators on issues which threaten press freedom.

She has also advised on sensitive parliamentary select committee investigations and high-profile public inquiries.

Prior to working for the BBC, Sayra was a dispute resolution lawyer at Slaughter and May.

She was awarded a first-class honours degree in law at Manchester and her Master of Laws in international human rights law at Harvard Law School.

Sayra will have responsibility for the NMA’s legal, policy and regulatory affairs committee, chaired by Lord Black and comprising publisher and editorial representatives and legal and policy experts.

The NMA team supporting the committee’s work includes senior legal adviser Catherine Courtney and policy and regulatory affairs adviser Elizabeth Dunkley, who takes over the role from Sofia Pesce who has left to pursue a master’s degree.