Brilliant and brave, Paul Carter of the Mail dies at 54

PaUL Carter, the Daily Mail’s hugely talented and respected Deputy Editor, has died after a long and heroic battle against cancer. He was 54.

He fought the disease many times while forging an outstanding 30-year career in national newspapers and had worked for the Mail since 2000.

Fiercely intelligent, he is fondly remembered by colleagues not only for his intellect and razorsharp news sense, but also for his warmth, kindness, loyalty and sense of humour.

Paying tribute to Mr Carter as a ‘remarkable man and journalist’, Paul Dacre, the Editor of the Daily Mail, said: ‘Paul was one of the most brilliant all-round journalists I have worked with and in his 17 years here made an incalculable contribution to the Mail’s success.

‘He is a huge loss both to the paper and to the many colleagues whom he befriended and mentored.’

Newspapers were in Paul Carter’s blood – his great-grandfather founded a local newspaper in Essex and East London. Mr Carter’s grandmother took it over during the Second World

‘A remarkable man and journalist’

War and continued to run successfully an expanding group of local newspapers for many years. Paul’s mother was a journalist and editor.

as a student at Queen’s College, Oxford, Mr Carter studied politics, philosophy and economics, and was editor of the university newspaper Cherwell.

He began his career in journalism at The Star, Sheffield, as a news reporter, later becoming a sub-editor. He joined the Daily Express in 1987, where he went on to hold a variety of senior positions including Night Editor.

Passionate about poetry and art, he was also the co-author, with Roger Highfield, of the 1993 book The Private Lives of albert Einstein. Mr Carter’s other interests included skiing and country walks.

One colleague who knew him for 30 years said: ‘ Paul was tremendously loyal to the people he cared about, had terrifyingly high standards and was professional to a degree that would put many of his colleagues to shame.’

Mr Carter died peacefully at Charing Cross Hospital in London on Wednesday night.