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Former regional editor dies while working for national daily

Paul Thomas 2023A former regional editor who spent the past year working for a national daily has died.

Tributes has been paid to Paul Thomas, who edited titles including the Berkshire Express series, Gloucestershire’s Gazette and Independent and King’s Lynn weekly Your Local Paper.

During his 35-year career, Paul also held senior editorial roles at Northcliffe, Newsquest and Archant.

He had worked as a digital sub-editor at Metro since January 2022. He is believed to have been 58.

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last year, Paul appeared on Good Morning Britain to recall his meetings with her as both a child growing up in Windsor and later as an editor on the royal patch.

Herts Advertiser journalist Laura Bill, who worked with Paul during his time with Archant, told HTFP: “Paul was a hard-working, tenacious, determined, reliable journalist with brilliant news sense and a wonderful portfolio of fascinating tales.

“He’d met so many interesting people and loved to talk – it was exciting to see him on the sofa with Holly and Phil recently talking about meeting The Queen.

“Paul and a friend and I were due to meet up soon for a drink and it was such a shock to hear of his passing. He showed such dedication to his work even with his health conditions.”

Paul began his career on the Observer series, in Berkshire, in 1988, later moving on to reporter and newsdesk roles at News International.

He joined the Mirror group in 1992 and the following year took a phone call from the IRA while working on the newsdesk.

After he was subsequently despatched over the “ring of steel” into the City of London, a bomb exploded claiming the life of News of the World photographer Ed Henty and injuring 44 other people.

From 1995 to 1998, Paul worked on the Mail on Sunday’s newsdesk and night newsdesk before he returned to Berkshire to edit the Trinity Mirror-owned Express series – a role he would hold for nine years.

He ran the Gazette and Independent, in Gloucester, from March 2008 to December 2009 and the following year joined Northcliffe as a senior sub-editor in Essex, where he worked across 42 different titles.

From 2012 to 2015 Paul was a senior sub on the Oxford Mail and then spent a further 19 months as a copy editor for its owner Newsquest, working across 82 newspapers at the publisher’s Newport hub.

A spell freelancing followed before a six-month stint in charge of Your Local Paper.

From 2017 to 2019 Paul returned to his old stomping ground as group deputy editor for Newsquest Berkshire and then spent two-and-a-half years as a print production editor at Archant, based in Stevenage.

He joined Metro after a three-month stint editing political magazine The Mace.

Paul’s Metro colleague Amanda Cable said: “Paul Thomas was a charming and clever colleague – he read American history at UCL – and always the first in line with a funny story

” A natural bon viveur, he let nothing get in the way of a good meal and good company. Even when he needed emergency surgery at Moorfields Eye Hospital, he regained consciousness from the anaesthetic, and flagged a taxi into town to his favourite Italian restaurant, insisting that a good pasta was best medicine anyone could hope for.

“He never told his colleagues about his friendship with the broadcaster Michael Parkinson, nor did he mention his extraordinary long-term friendship with the Queen – which he wrote about movingly in Metro’s tribute edition following her death.”

“One thing his colleagues will never forget is Paul’s pride in his son and daughter. We shall miss his stories, and his brilliant eye for detail.”