David Scott, Scottish Government editor of The Scotsman, has retired after 35 years with the newspaper.
Among the guests at a farewell party at The Scotsman were Scottish First Minister Jack McConnell, Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer George Reid and the leaders of the main opposition parties.
Scott, 60, one of Scotland’s most respected journalists and whose name is a byword in the country for fair and accurate reporting, began his career on the weekly Hawick News, and then spent a year on the Cumberland Evening News before joining The Scotsman on 1 January, 1968.
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His first assignment was to cover an aviary show.
After a spell as a general reporter, he became municipal correspondent – principally covering Edinburgh City Council – but the role evolved into a wider brief for Scottish local authorities and he was eventually appointed local government editor.
When the Scottish Parliament was reborn in 1999, he became Scottish Government editor with a free-ranging role.
His outstanding contribution to Scottish journalism was marked in 1998 when he was awarded the OBE.
More than 100 people attended his farewell party, and Scott admitted he was “quite overwhelmed” by the occasion.
He now intends to freelance and has already fixed up a contract with the magazine Public Finance.
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