Some 73 years after starting his journalism career Bill Deedes was named as one of the seven Great Britons of 2004.
The inaugural awards ceremony took place at the Royal Courts of Justice, with Chancellor Gordon Brown as guest of honour.
Lord
Deedes, 91, received £3,000 after beating the late DJ John Peel and
trade union leader Sir Bill Morris to the prize in the public service
category.
Other winners were author Philip Pullman, designer Sir
Paul Smith, fundraiser Jane Tomlinson, architect Lord Norman Foster and
Olympic gold medal winner Kelly Holmes. The overall Greatest Briton and
winner of a £25,000 prize was Sir Tim Berners- Lee, who is credited as
founding the World Wide Web.
Deedes started his career as a
reporter on the Morning Post before it merged with the Daily Telegraph
in 1937. He was MP for Ashford in Kent between 1950 and 1974 and editor
of the Daily Telegraph between 1974 and 1986 – he is still a regular
contributor to the paper.
Deedes is pictured being presented with
his award by Richard Lambert, former editor of the Financial Times and
a member of the monetary policy committee of the Bank of England.
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