NO sooner has he retired as managing editor of the Daily Record and Sunday Mail, but Malcolm Speed has popped up at arch rivals, The Scottish Sun.
After 41 years with the Record – where his duties, latterly, included legal issues – Speed has accepted a position as editorial consultant, with his appointment being hailed by his new employers as the capture of a “newspaper legend”.
Says The Scottish Sun editor: “Malcolm is a genuine newspaperman with a wealth of experience and contacts. His contribution will be invaluable to the Scottish Sun at this crucial time in our development.”
Certainly, judging by the calibre of the turn-out at a farewell dinner on Tuesday evening, Speed is hugely well regarded.
A sprinkling of newspaper editors and QCs, plus a lord, will have made for a night to remember.
It was probably just as well that Mark Hollinshead, the managing director of the Daily Record and Sunday Mail, was unable to attend, since it was there that Speed’s future employment was revealed.
