The British journalism world is mourning the loss of Bill Hagerty, a towering Fleet Street editor and passionate advocate for a free press, who has died at the age of 86. His extraordinary career spanned seven decades, charting the course of the newspaper industry from its post-war zenith to the digital age.
A Seventy-Year Voyage Through Journalism
Hagerty's journey in journalism began at just 16 years old, writing amateur football reports for the Walthamstow Post for £3 5s a week. In a fitting full circle, his final regular column, penned until months before his death, was match reporting on Brentford FC for the Chiswick Calendar website. He often reflected on this circularity, calling journalism a "funny old game".
He became a central figure at the Mirror Group newspapers for two decades, holding senior roles including Editor of the People (1991-92), Deputy Editor of both the Sunday Mirror and the Daily Mirror, and even acting Editor of the daily title. His career was rooted in popular, 'red top' journalism, yet he was deeply conscious of its moral responsibilities, famously stating that editors cared more "with ethics than Essex".
A Lifelong Defender of Press and Principles
Hagerty dedicated his life to defending press freedom. In later years, he voiced significant concern over the decline in local newspapers and the lack of training for young journalists, warning of the damage to democracy. He championed these issues for over 30 years on the editorial board of the British Journalism Review, editing the quarterly from 2002 for a decade and later serving as its chairman.
He also served energetically on the council of the Journalists' Charity from 2002 to 2021, chairing it in 2011-12. While nostalgic for old Fleet Street's camaraderie, he enthusiastically embraced the industry's digital transformation, though his paramount concern was maintaining journalistic standards in the inevitable shift to online news.
From Hollywood Stars to Alastair Campbell's Diaries
A writer at heart, Hagerty's early role as the Daily Mirror's showbusiness editor, which he first joined in 1967, granted him access to Hollywood legends like John Wayne, Richard Burton, and Joan Collins. His anecdotes from this era became legendary in the Mirror's local pub, 'The Stab'.
His literary contributions were substantial. He authored Read All About It for the Daily Mirror's centenary in 2003 and co-wrote Flash, Bang, Wallop! with photographer Kent Gavin. After leaving editing, he curated his dream job as a film and theatre critic until 2009. Notably, he edited all eight volumes of Alastair Campbell's Diaries, published between 2010 and 2021.
Born in Ilford on 23 April 1939, Bill Hagerty retained a lifelong enthusiasm for journalism, alongside a love of lunching, jazz, and cricket—a kindness and courtesy that marked him out in a notoriously competitive trade. He is survived by his wife, the BBC journalist Liz Vercoe, their son Adam, the children of his first marriage, Will and Faith, and his brother Michael. His daughter Laura predeceased him. He died on 26 December 2025.
