Funeral details released for former News Letter politics editor Mervyn Pauley after death aged 88

The ex-political editor of the paper, who retired in 2001, died on Wednesday after a short illness, aged 88.

His funeral is to be held at Rosemary Presbyterian Church on North Circular Road, north Belfast, at 11am on Wednesday, January 22.

Meanwhile the tributes to him have continued to flow, with former News Letter journalist, now BBC man, Mark Simpson voicing his condolences.

"Very sad news,” he said.

"Mervyn was the calmest man I ever met in journalism at Stormont (and with the neatest notebook).

"No ego. A gentle, generous, modest and kind colleague. I looked up to him when I joined the News Letter in 1990 and still do. RIP Mervyn.”

Sandra Chapman, a former long-time News Letter columnist, first met Mr Pauley during their time together at the Belfast Telegraph, before he joined the News Letter.

She said: “He knew his stuff. I learned a lot from reading his politics [articles].

"He was always very anxious to get both sides of everything. He just didn’t sit down and write it off the top of his head – he did his homework.

“I remember his accuracy. He never missed a beat, honestly. I don’t ever remember Mervyn Pauley geting anything wrong.

"He must have studied every night all those politicians, because he knew them all off by heart. He was a wonderful man.”