33:
1022:
352:
His time as Editor was eventful. He was accused of falsely reporting a profit to the
Student Union for one edition of the paper when it had in reality made a loss, but was ultimately cleared of deliberately making the claim. An article he produced on
519:
In 1977, Kay killed his
Japanese-born first wife, Harue (née Nonaka), by drowning her in the bath. After several attempts to kill himself, the police found him in his car naked and covered in blood. He was arrested and charged with murder.
543:. Returning home after the conference, Kay said he felt unable to resign because it would harm his career, but knew he was not capable of functioning as Industrial Editor either. He said that he announced to Harue that he was going to
1240:
531:, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Mathew argued that Kay lacked confidence when going 'on the road' to interview people and said that prior to the incident, Kay suffered a
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999:
387:, where he was an Editorial writer (1965–67); Chief Industrial Correspondent (1967–68); and Deputy News Editor (1968–1970). After a spell in London as a features writer for
1250:
299:. In 1977 he was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility after killing his wife and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for treatment.
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though, did pay the money to his source, Bettina Jordan-Barber, who was jailed for 12 months in
January for misconduct in public office. Kay left
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489:
1157:
408:, some of Kay's methods involved "treading a fine line between journalistic licence and dishonesty". In 1983, he was reprimanded by the
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to say there would always be a job open for Kay with the newspaper. The judge ordered Kay to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital in
1215:
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published a two-page spread calling him "the greatest journalist of his generation" and "everybody's mate", and a
362:
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369:, gave Kay a vote of confidence and allowed him to continue as Editor, while condemning the offending article.
340:
291:
121:
92:
864:
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feature in
November 2005 identified him as the sixteenth most influential British journalist since the war.
345:
567:
536:
249:
830:"John Kay: Swashbuckling Sun chief reporter who revealed leaked Queen's Christmas message dies aged 77"
1186:
1210:
1205:
618:
for prosecuting Kay on bribery charges in 2015, all without touching on his manslaughter conviction (
453:
296:
140:
990:"John Kay, Sun chief reporter famed for his scoops, exposés and mastery of tabloid-speak – obituary"
994:
384:
704:
548:
409:
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for falsely claiming to have had a "world exclusive" interview with Maria McKay, the widow of a
1033:
532:
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chief reporter famed for his scoops, exposés and effortless mastery of tabloid-speak", while
547:. After drowning her, he said he attempted to kill himself through several methods including
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investigation into alleged bribes to police and civil servants. Kay was cleared at the
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with a large pay rise and a company car. Twice named 'Reporter of the Year' in the
444:
418:
1132:"Lovely eulogies to Fleet Street's John Kay, but they overlook one important fact"
473:
past retirement on a full-time freelance basis but on the same salary as before.
399:
newspaper from 1974, initially as a general reporter, then as
Industrial Editor.
1102:
1097:
511:, he cared for her at their home in North London; she died in 2017 from cancer.
432:
s chief reporter in 1990. According to freelance journalist Rob McGibbon in the
358:
354:
315:
on 28 October 1943. Kay's father, Ernest Kay, was managing editor of the London
295:
newspaper for several decades. He was twice named 'Reporter of the Year' in the
357:
ceremonies' also attracted controversy, and was described as a "nasty piece of
485:
323:
232:
467:
reported in
November 2008 that Kay had been persuaded to continue working on
1028:
879:"Sun chief reporter John Kay proves that some journalists ARE indispensable"
709:
626:
added mentions of the killing to the obituaries after initial publication).
540:
413:
404:
829:
377:
After graduating from Durham, Kay gained his first job in journalism with
1158:"My mentor died a broken man after Keir Starmer's groundless prosecution"
905:
900:
587:
477:
75:
544:
289:(28 October 1943 – 7 May 2021) was a British journalist who worked for
349:
during
Michaelmas term of 1963, having previously been News Editor.
312:
58:
1241:
People associated with the News
International phone hacking scandal
922:"Four senior Sun journalists acquitted over payments to officials"
503:
In 1979, he married his
Spanish-born wife, Mercedes, a PA for the
361:" by the Pro Vice-Chancellor of the university. Despite this, the
492:
member of staff for assistance on stories relating to the army.
488:
in March 2015 of paying a total of £100,000 over a decade to a
332:
857:"Press Gazette names top forty journalists of the modern era"
535:, locking himself in his hotel room shortly before the 1977
395:
in 1971 to serve as
Business Editor. He began working for
941:"MoD 'mole' Bettina Jordan-Barber jailed over Sun leaks"
960:"What has happened to the 28 arrested Sun journalists?"
448:, tried to recruit the journalist, but Kay remained at
658:
Stick it Up Your Punter! The Rise and Fall of the Sun
574:. After a spell of treatment he was taken back on by
555:, and finally driving his car head-on into a bridge.
558:The court accepted Kay's account of the events and
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480:to be one of eight people arrested as part of the
578:on condition that he be confined to the office.
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651:
649:
647:
645:
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327:Pilkington). The younger Kay was educated at
8:
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590:on 7 May 2021 after a fall. Upon his death,
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656:Chippendale, Peter; Horrie, Chris (2005) .
241:on the grounds of diminished responsibility
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1123:
1121:
742:Dictionary of International Biography 1973
671:
669:
667:
201:
31:
20:
901:"Eight people held over payments inquiry"
600:obituary described him as the "brilliant
1251:English people convicted of manslaughter
744:. Cambridge: Melrose Press. p. 644.
507:airline. After he severed all ties with
416:VC. She had sold her story to the rival
1059:"'Torment' of reporter who killed wife"
676:"Torment of reporter who killed wife".
660:. London: Pocket Books. pp. 89–91.
635:
190: 1979; died 2017)
169: 1976; died 1977)
476:In February 2012, Kay was reported by
322:
7:
958:Greenslade, Roy (3 September 2015).
1231:Alumni of Hatfield College, Durham
1130:Bennett, Catherine (16 May 2021).
885:. 27 November 2008. Archived from
863:. 25 November 2005. Archived from
365:(SRC), responsible for publishing
14:
1226:People educated at Bootham School
1191:National Portrait Gallery, London
1023:"Journalist drowned wife in bath"
939:O'Carroll, Lisa (20 March 2015).
920:O'Carroll, Lisa (20 March 2015).
828:Ponsford, Dominic (10 May 2021).
523:Defended at trial by John Mathew
1156:Newton Dunn, Tom (12 May 2021).
1002:from the original on 12 May 2021
363:Student Representatives' Council
343:), where he served as Editor of
1221:The Sun (United Kingdom) people
1071:from the original on 9 May 2021
1067:. 13 December 1977. p. 4.
1032:. 13 December 1977. p. 4.
187:
166:
1236:Palatinate (newspaper) editors
814:. 4 November 1963. p. 23.
810:"Student editor to keep job".
680:. 13 December 1977. p. 4.
586:Kay died at a nursing home in
16:British journalist (1943–2021)
1:
442:, while he was editor of the
402:According to his obituary in
335:and continued his studies at
321:, and his mother was Martha (
1106:. No. 1547. 14 May 2021
1098:"So. Farewell then John Kay"
1272:
788:(175): 1. 10 December 1963
762:(175): 2. 10 December 1963
515:Manslaughter of first wife
1256:People from Golders Green
276:
211:
200:
30:
1216:British male journalists
139:'Reporter of the Year',
122:Hatfield College, Durham
724:(subscription required)
553:jumping out of a window
608:wrote a piece for the
1187:Portraits of John Kay
812:Birmingham Daily Post
568:St Albans Crown Court
500:in 2015 and retired.
740:Kay, Ernest (1974).
454:British Press Awards
297:British Press Awards
141:British Press Awards
909:. 11 February 2012.
705:"John Kay obituary"
490:Ministry of Defence
566:wrote a letter to
389:Thomson Newspapers
1246:Deaths from falls
889:on 11 March 2012.
533:nervous breakdown
482:Operation Elveden
438:obituary of Kay,
425:He was appointed
391:, he returned to
337:Durham University
284:
283:
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225:nervous breakdown
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1162:Evening Standard
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782:"Editor Cleared"
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624:Evening Standard
616:Sir Keir Starmer
611:Evening Standard
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341:Hatfield College
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307:Kay was born in
287:John Michael Kay
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43:John Michael Kay
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998:. 11 May 2021.
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867:on 17 May 2011.
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606:Tom Newton Dunn
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246:Criminal charge
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131:1963–2015
118:Alma mater
90:Journalist for
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52:28 October 1943
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1181:External links
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1081:Newspapers.com
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713:. 13 May 2021
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156:Harue Nonaka
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55:Golders Green
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1166:. Retrieved
1161:
1151:
1139:. Retrieved
1136:The Observer
1135:
1108:. Retrieved
1101:
1079:– via
1073:. Retrieved
1064:The Guardian
1062:
1053:
1041:. Retrieved
1027:
1016:
1004:. Retrieved
993:
967:. Retrieved
964:The Guardian
963:
953:
945:The Guardian
944:
934:
926:The Guardian
925:
915:
904:
895:
887:the original
882:
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865:the original
860:
851:
839:. Retrieved
833:
811:
790:. Retrieved
785:
776:
764:. Retrieved
759:
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741:
715:. Retrieved
708:
678:The Guardian
677:
657:
623:
619:
614:criticising
609:
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559:
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545:kill himself
539:Congress in
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522:
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445:Daily Mirror
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419:Daily Mirror
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366:
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344:
318:Evening News
316:
306:
290:
286:
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239:Manslaughter
91:
71:(2021-05-07)
18:
1211:2021 deaths
1206:1943 births
1103:Private Eye
792:9 September
766:9 September
393:The Journal
380:The Journal
359:pornography
355:black magic
1200:Categories
1038:CS68780429
786:Palatinate
760:Palatinate
630:References
564:Larry Lamb
486:Old Bailey
383:in nearby
367:Palatinate
346:Palatinate
303:Early life
219:Attempted
87:Occupation
69:7 May 2021
48:1943-10-28
1029:The Times
710:The Times
541:Blackpool
422:tabloid.
414:Falklands
405:The Times
385:Newcastle
264:Harue Kay
108:Education
82:, England
61:, England
1164:. London
1069:Archived
1000:Archived
906:BBC News
756:"Editor"
588:Hertford
478:BBC News
206:John Kay
100:Language
76:Hertford
25:John Kay
1189:at the
620:The Sun
592:The Sun
576:The Sun
562:editor
549:hanging
529:The Sun
509:The Sun
498:The Sun
494:The Sun
470:The Sun
450:The Sun
427:The Sun
397:The Sun
292:The Sun
261:Victims
256:Details
223:due to
192:
184:
180:
171:
163:
159:
148:Spouses
143:(twice)
103:English
93:The Sun
1168:17 May
1141:17 May
1110:17 May
1075:10 May
1043:10 May
1036:
1006:12 May
841:10 May
717:13 May
505:Iberia
373:Career
313:London
250:Murder
216:Motive
128:Period
59:London
969:9 May
582:Death
430:'
186:(
182:
165:(
161:
1170:2021
1143:2021
1112:2021
1077:2021
1045:2021
1034:Gale
1008:2021
971:2021
843:2021
794:2018
768:2018
719:2021
622:and
463:The
456:, a
333:York
272:1977
269:Date
66:Died
40:Born
602:Sun
560:Sun
537:TUC
331:in
324:née
1202::
1160:.
1134:.
1120:^
1100:.
1089:^
1061:.
1026:.
992:.
979:^
962:.
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903:.
881:.
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758:.
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707:.
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525:QC
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