SIR BERNARD INGHAM Bernard Ingham, the son of cotton weavers, was born in Halifax on June 21st 1932. He was brought up and educated in Hebden Bridge in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He went to Hebden Bridge Grammar School and stayed on in the sixth form with the intention of becoming a geography teacher. The local newspaper, the Hebden Bridge Times, then advertised for a junior reporter. He applied, got the job and began work in October, 1948. He continued his education at Todmorden, Halifax and Bradford Technical Colleges. He edited the Hebden Bridge Times in all bar name at the age of 19 before joining the Halifax Office of the Yorkshire Evening Post and the Yorkshire Post in 1952. He covered Halifax Rugby League Club and International and Test Matches for 10 years. He remained in Halifax until 1959 when he joined the Head Office staff of the Yorkshire Post in Leeds. He was appointed Northern Industrial Correspondent in 1961. In 1962 he joined the Leeds Office of The Guardian, covering the North East of England from the Wash to the Scottish border and sometimes beyond into Scotland. Three days after failing by a wide margin, as a labour candidate to secure election to Leeds City Council, he was transferred by The Guardian to its labour staff in London. He covered the trade unions and the Labour Party for two years before entering the Civil Service in 1967 on a short term contract as Press and PR Adviser to the National Board for Prices and Incomes. Sir Bernard did not return to journalism, as he intended when his contract was completed, until 23 years later when he retired from the Civil Service in 1990. He now writes a weekly column for the Daily Express and occasionally on media issues for The Times. In 1968 he was recruited as Mrs Barbara Castle's speechwriter at the Department of Employment and Productivity. Until 1978 he served successively as Director of Information in the Departments of Employment and Energy under (in the Department of Energy) Lord Carrington, Eric Varley and Tony Benn. In 1978 he was promoted to the rank of Under Secretary to head a new energy conservation division in the Department of Energy. He held that post when the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, recruited him in October, 1979 as her Chief Press Secretary. He served in that capacity until Mrs Thatcher's resignation in November 1991. He was knighted in Mrs Thatcher's resignation honours and then wrote a 140,000 word autobiography 'Kill the Messenger' in three months. The book was published in May 1991 and became a best seller. It appeared in paperback in November 1991. Sir Bernard has his own communications company and holds consultancy appointments with British Nuclear Fuels plc and the British Nuclear Forum. He is a non executive director of McDonalds Restaurants (UK) Ltd and Hill Knowlton (UK) Ltd, the international public affairs company. He is much in demand as an After Dinner Speaker.   [ back ]