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Former Inverness Courier owner Stuart Lindsay tribute – Catherine MacLeod, former BBC news, ex-Herald Westminster political correspondent and ex-special advisor to Alistair Darling, former chancellor of the exchequer





Catherine MacLeod, ex-Herald and BBC, and Stuart Lindsay.
Catherine MacLeod, ex-Herald and BBC, and Stuart Lindsay.

Catherine MacLeod, ex BBC news, Glasgow Herald political chief at Westminster and special advisor to Alastair Darling, former chancellor of the exchequer, remembers a master of his craft – and a fine human being.

READ THE TRIBUTE: ‘An exemplary journalist… a crucial witness’ – ex-Courier owner helped nail Renee and Andrew MacRae’s killer

“Whenever I think about Stuart Lindsay I think about his stories, his delight at finding them, and his almost boyish enthusiasm when imparting every nuance and detail he had uncovered on his travels.

“There was no point in being in a hurry with Stuart. He would tell his tale in his own time and if you had to interrupt for any reason he would simply take up where he’d left off the next time you met.

“His knowledge of the subjects in which he was interested was encyclopaedic.

“Stuart marched to the beat of his own drum. He was an exemplary journalist. He knew more than most about what was going on. He took very little at face value and often followed pretty tenuous leads, sensing all was not what it seemed. Regularly he was right.

“He knew most of the movers and shakers in the Highlands, rarely relied on the latest press release and if you ever walked around Inverness or Kirkwall or Lochinver with him you realised he knew many people beyond the corridors of power.

“Numerous, trusted contacts were the key to his success and were reflected often in his serious, thorough, thoughtful journalism.

“Stuart was kind and helpful. When I worked for the BBC in Inverness, he regularly called me to make sure I was across some story or another and at the same time find out what we were up to. He generously gave advice and shared his knowledge.

“Stuart wasn’t frightened to put his head above the parapet or even take the plunge. He exposed the massive tax dodge exploited by celebrities planting trees in the Highlands and when the fishermen and environmentalists battled over the cull of grey seals in the waters of Orkney he took up the plight of the fishermen whose livelihoods were imperilled.

“At one point he was in the water. I cannot recall if he intended to single-handedly take on the Greenpeace trawler to stop the cull.

“Stuart’s death is a loss to all his friends and to Janet, Reuben, Matthew and Christopher and their families most of all.

“He was proud of them and, just as he may have related details of his latest scoop, delighted in sharing their latest news.”


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