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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Journalist Lord Deedes dies at 94 | Journalist Lord Deedes dies at 94 |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| The veteran journalist William 'Bill' Deedes has died aged 94. | The veteran journalist William 'Bill' Deedes has died aged 94. |
| Lord Deedes was the only man to have edited a newspaper - the Telegraph - and to have been in the cabinet. | Lord Deedes was the only man to have edited a newspaper - the Telegraph - and to have been in the cabinet. |
| He spent the majority of his adult life writing for national newspapers and became known as the "Grand Old Man of Fleet Street". | He spent the majority of his adult life writing for national newspapers and became known as the "Grand Old Man of Fleet Street". |
| The young Bill Deedes was the inspiration for Evelyn Waugh's infamous war reporter William Boot in the novel Scoop. | |
| Lord Deedes died at his home in Kent after a short illness. | Lord Deedes died at his home in Kent after a short illness. |
| Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Britain owed a "huge debt of gratitude" for Lord Deedes' public service. | Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Britain owed a "huge debt of gratitude" for Lord Deedes' public service. |
| Bill Deedes was a giant among men Aidan BarclayTelegraph Media Group | |
| "He started writing as a professional journalist more than 76 years ago and few have served journalism and the British people for so long at such a high level of distinction and with such a popular following," he said. | "He started writing as a professional journalist more than 76 years ago and few have served journalism and the British people for so long at such a high level of distinction and with such a popular following," he said. |
| In addition to being the model for Waugh's Scoop, he also achieved fame outside Fleet Street as "Dear Bill", addressee of the "Denis Thatcher" fortnightly letter in Private Eye. | |
| Deedes was still an active journalist in his 90s, making visits to war-torn places like Ethiopia and Sudan, and writing a column in the Daily Telegraph. | |
| Baroness Thatcher, who had known him for more than 50 years, told the Telegraph: "Bill was a dear friend who will be greatly missed. He had a uniquely distinguished career in politics and journalism. | |
| "He managed to appeal to new generations just as effectively as he did to earlier ones. I am deeply sorry at his passing." | |
| Aidan Barclay, chairman of the Telegraph Media Group, said: "Bill Deedes was a giant among men, a towering figure in journalism, an icon in British politics and a humanitarian to his very core. | |
| "He was part of the fabric of the Telegraph. In his passing we have lost part of ourselves. We will not see his like again. Our thoughts are with his family and his legion of friends." |