The Observer, the Express and the Daily Star have all had new editors in 2025.
Lucy Rock, who was appointed print editor of The Observer ahead of its takeover by Tortoise Media, stepped down in September. The brand is now led across print and digital by editor-in-chief James Harding.
At the Express Geoff Maynard took over from Tom Hunt, who led the brand for just under a year, in September.
[Read more: Express editor-in-chief moves into wider role in Reach leadership reshuffle]
Months earlier Reach sister title Daily Star also saw an editorship change, with Jon Clark stepping down after seven years.
Instead the title now has a Daily Star Online editor-in-chief – ex-Mirror online editor Ben Rankin – while former deputy editor Denis Mann reports to him as editor of the Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday in print.
Press Gazette has put together a round-up of the UK’s national newspaper editors as they stand (in no particular order). We will keep this list updated.
UK national newspaper editors
The Times
Tony Gallagher was appointed editor of The Times on 28 September 2022 following the resignation of John Witherow the day before.
Gallagher was promoted from deputy editor, and had already been acting as caretaker editor for several months while Witherow was on medical leave.
Gallagher joined The Times in February 2020 from fellow News UK title The Sun where he was editor for five years. He has also previously edited The Daily Telegraph between 2009 and 2014.
The Sunday Times
Ben Taylor was named editor of The Sunday Times on 19 January 2023, stepping up from deputy editor after news Emma Tucker would be leaving to lead The Wall Street Journal from 1 February.
Taylor was previously executive editor of the Daily Mail, where he worked for 22 years, before joining The Sunday Times as deputy editor in 2020.
Daily Mail
Ted Verity has edited the Daily Mail since November 2021, having previously been at the helm of the Mail on Sunday since 2018 and deputy at the daily paper before that.
He is editor-in-chief of Mail Newspapers, meaning he has overall responsibility for the Mail brands in a seven-day operation.
Mail on Sunday
Following Verity’s promotion, David Dillon was appointed to be Mail on Sunday editor in December 2021. He was previously Verity’s deputy.
Dillon first joined the Mail on Sunday from the Daily Express in 2001, working as news editor for a number of years before being promoted to executive editor.
The Sun and The Sun on Sunday
Victoria Newton has been editor-in-chief of The Sun since February 2020. She had been editor at The Sun on Sunday since 2013 but took over from Gallagher when he left The Sun for The Times.
Newton has maintained responsibility for the Sunday title in her editor-in-chief role.
Daily Mirror
Caroline Waterston, previously editor-in-chief of Reach magazines and supplements, has edited the Daily Mirror since the start of February 2024 – initially on an interim basis before she was made permanent on 30 April.
Waterston first joined Reach (then Trinity Mirror) in the mid-1990s and her roles have included deputy news editor and features editor of The People, features editor of the Sunday Mirror, head of features and deputy editor on the Sunday titles, deputy editor-in-chief across the Express and Star titles after their acquisition by Reach, and editor-in-chief of the national magazines including OK! magazine.
Waterston took over from Alison Phillips, who had edited the Daily Mirror since March 2018 and was editor-in-chief of that title plus the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People from February 2020 with the move to a seven-day operation.
The Daily Telegraph
Chris Evans has been editor of The Telegraph since January 2014 after the sacking of Tony Gallagher. He has been with The Telegraph since 2007, with previous roles including news editor and head of news, after joining from the Daily Mail where he spent 11 years.
The Sunday Telegraph
Although Evans has ultimate editorial responsibility at The Telegraph, Allister Heath has edited The Sunday Telegraph since 2017, having previously been Telegraph deputy editor.
Daily Express and Sunday Express
Geoff Maynard was named editor-in-chief of the Express on 2 September 2025, less than a year after Tom Hunt took the reins.
Maynard first joined the Express as a newsdesk forward planner and worked his way up to becoming head of news and then deputy editor.
He said in a statement: “We have an amazing, hard-working team with lots of brilliant ideas to strengthen our brand and continue our outstanding campaigns and investigative journalism.
“I look forward to building on the successful one-team Express model developed by Tom and want to thank him for his support and wish him well as he takes on his new role in the editorial leadership structure.”
The Guardian
Katharine Viner has been editor-in-chief at The Guardian since 2015, when she was voted by staff to take over from Alan Rusbridger. She was previously editor-in-chief at The Guardian’s US edition.
The Observer
Tortoise Media co-founder James Harding is editor-in-chief of The Observer with Basia Cummings and Giles Whittell as his deputies.
Lucy Rock had been appointed print editor of The Observer in December 2024 ahead of its takeover by Tortoise Media, but she stepped down in September 2025.
Before co-founding Tortoise Media in 2018, Harding was director of BBC News and previously editor of The Times.
The i Paper
Oly Duff has been editor-in-chief of the The i Paper since June 2013, when he became the UK’s youngest national newspaper editor aged 29 – a title he maintains today.
Financial Times
Roula Khalaf has edited The Financial Times since January 2020, when she succeeded Lionel Barber who spent 14 years as editor.
Khalaf had been Barber’s deputy since 2016 and her previous roles at the FT included foreign editor and Middle East editor. She first joined the business newspaper in 1995.
Daily Star and Daily Star on Sunday
On 28 January 2025 it was announced that Daily Star deputy editor Denis Mann has been promoted to editor of the daily and Sunday titles as Jon Clark stepped down after almost seven years.
Mann will report to Daily Star Online editor-in-chief Ben Rankin as the brand undergoes a digital-first restructure.
Previously, under Clark’s leadership, Mann edited the Daily Star on Sunday and was a deputy on the daily from March 2018.
The Independent
Geordie Greig was appointed as editor-in-chief of the digital-only The Independent in January 2023, just over a year after being ousted from editing the Daily Mail. He has previously edited the Mail on Sunday, Evening Standard and Tatler.
He took over at The Independent from David Marley, who had been acting editor since October 2020 when Christian Broughton was promoted to managing director.
Free newspaper editors
Metro
Deborah Arthurs is editor-in-chief of Metro in print and online, having taken the lead on a new combined operation in March 2023.
She had been editor of Metro.co.uk from 2014 and a “gentle refresh” of the brand aligning print and online marked the beginning of her tenure as overall editor.
Arthurs has taken over from Ted Young, who had been editing the print newspaper for eight years.
Evening Standard
The Standard does not currently have an editor following the departure of Dylan Jones in November 2024, two months after the title moved from a daily to a weekly edition. Jones had been editor for 18 months.
Former GQ editor of 22 years Jones was appointed editor-in-chief of the Evening Standard in June 2023 following a brief period as editorial consultant. When he started, he became the news outlet’s first permanent editor in more than 18 months.
Before him, Jack Lefley was acting editor from July 2022 and Charlotte Ross had previously been acting editor from October 2021.
The last full-time editors were Emily Sheffield, who left in October 2021 after 15 months, and former chancellor George Osborne, who was in post between May 2017 and July 2020.
City AM
Former City AM editor Christian May returned to the free business title after almost four years away at the end of August 2024.
He succeeded Andy Silvester, May’s former deputy who took on the role himself, whose last day was Thursday 18 July.
May described his previous five-year stint as editor as “the happiest and most rewarding years of my life”, adding: “I couldn’t be more excited to rejoin the team at City AM as it gears up for an ambitious era of growth and innovation.”
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