Tributes as former News Letter political editor Mervyn Pauley dies at age of 88
The former political editor of the News Letter, Mervyn Pauley, has died.
He was aged 88.
He had joined the staff in the 1960s and retired from the paper in 2001.
Soon after, he was given an OBE for services to journalism.
Ben Lowry, the News Letter editor, said: "We are deeply saddened to hear this news. Mervyn was a hugely respected political journalist, for example covering the Belfast Agreement for our readers.
"The News Letter has been publishing for 288 years and Mervyn was on the roll call of distinguished reporters.
"This comes weeks after the sad news about another former News Letter political expert, Ken Reid."
Billy Kennedy, a former assistant editor who joined the News Letter in 1974 and retired from full-time journalism in 2008, remembered him as an "absolute gentleman".
"He was a great colleague," said Mr Kennedy.
"He was to me arguably the most accomplished journalist during my time in the News Letter.
"He had a very easy journalistic style – very easy to read.
"His contacts were impeccable. He had a direct line to the Prime Ministers of the day - Brian Faulkner, Terence O'Neill - but also had very good contacts in the SDLP.
"He was very, very approachable. He was very professional and had all the credentials as a journalist - his shorthand was impeccable."
Mr Kennedy added that he was "the best political correspondent in Northern Ireland of his generation" and "he could have been editor of the paper".