Off to the Tower for Signy (From Times Series)

Off to the Tower for Signy

5:12pm Friday 5th December 2008

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In those carefree 17 years when I was in the front line and the trenches guiding the Times group of newspapers, I was dubbed a "controversial editor" by the Sunday Times in a full page spread examining my front page comment that anti-Semitism was a worse problem in NW London than colour.

Heady days. I remember being in the Watford Observer office one Press day proof-reading the Times front page when the managing director looked at the lead story and said: "I hope you've got your facts right, Dennis. You're the one who gets carted off to the Tower of London."

The MD, a previous editor himself, often injected a cautionary note about the Tower when he felt that my campaiging zeal might get me into hot water.

Reading the current story about the Tory MP who was arrested after making public a series of documents passed to him by a leaker, I guess I am just lucky not to be still languishing in the Tower receiving notes from the old MD saying :"I did warn you, Dennis, didn't I?"

Remember the film "All the President's Men" in which two campaiging journalists were fed material leading up to the Watergate investigation by a gent known only as "Deep Throat"?

My contact book had several "Deep Throats" or moles listed... both sexes, all parties, all concerned that Private and Confidential on a document was a measure to ensure that it never came to public gaze.

One loveable Labour councillor used to come to dinner. No flowers for Mrs S. No bottle of wine. He'd just hand over a bundle of confidential papers, always with the crack: "You might find these interesting to read when you sober up."

Another of that ilk used to hot-foot it down Church Road from the town hall after meeting to put bundles of documents through the letter box, with the interesting bits underlined.

I can remember an up and coming young Tory phoning me on his mobile from a behind-closed doors selection meeting asking me to listen in to the votes for the various candidates.

All information, I respectfully suggest my Lord, in the public interest. I often had heated rows with the town clerk of the day on the Private and Confidential issue ... most of the time we didn't need a telephone to hear what the other was saying from town hall to Times office.

I wonder what would have happened if the police had been called in to arrest me and search my office and computer. I used to breakfast at Hendon police station, play cards at Edgware and mingled - great word that - with all ranks.

Rod Brewster, then a photographer and I, arrived before the police at a murder in Hendon ... courtesy of a tip-off from one of his moles at the nick.

My favourite "Deep Throat" worked at the town hall and hated several of his superiors with a venom. He took to supplying me with dockets detailing the use of the Mayoral car by members of the town hall Masonic Lodge for their meetings at the Cafe Royal.

There were several other completely unauthorised journeys and, as I relayed them to readers, I was hauled before the council directors over lunch at the town hall and unsuccessfully harangued about my informant.

The story ran for weeks, including the day that Rod Brewster and I, together with the councillor who was going to break the story in the council chamber, stood on a roof at Heathrow watching who was using the Mayoral car to get to and from the airport.

I got the facts right. Pictures, dockets, council papers to back me up. The claim is that I did it all in the public interest but, if pushed, I must admit that I did like seeing my name at the top of a front page exclusive story.

Footnote: any resemblance between me and any other living editor is purely coincidental.