The rise and fall of Daily Mirror editor Richard Wallace

Richard Wallace, the editor who took over from Piers Morgan at the Daily Mirror, has been made redundant following Trinity Mirror's decision to move its daily and Sunday titles to a seven-day model.

The rise and fall of Daily Mirror editor Richard Wallace
The rise and fall of Daily Mirror editor Richard Wallace

Trinity Mirror has opted to appoint Lloyd Embley, editor of The People, as editor of the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror, while making Wallace and Tina Weaver, Sunday Mirror's editor, redundant with immediate effect.

Richard Wallace has been editor of the Daily Mirror for eight years. He was appointed in June 2004 after incumbent editor Piers Morgan was dismissed amid a national scandal, sparked by publishing fake images of British soldiers mistreating Iraqi prisoners.

Wallace made a name for himself as a showbiz gossip writer and joined the Mirror in 1990 after starting his career at the Mail and The Sun.

He was promoted to the editor's hot seat at the Daily Mirror from his role as deputy editor of the Sunday Mirror, where he acted as acting editor at the Sunday Mirror for four months, covering for Weaver when she was on maternity leave.

On being made editor, Wallace immediately attempted to make his mark by and writers including Vanity Fair’s Christopher Hitchens.

The Scurra was written by James Steen, the former Punch editor, and Dominic Midgely and was dropped because it was thought to be too London-biased for the paper's traditional core readers in the North.

He made his mark when Hitchens, the controversial former leftist who died in December 2011, lost his column after Wallace reportedly said it was looking tired.

Wallace was awarded the GQ Editor of the Year award in 2006 and under his tenure the paper also won the London Press Club's newspaper of the year award in the same year.

Andy McSmith, senior writer at The Independent, said via Twitter: "Richard Wallace was a popular editor of the Daily Mirror, a hacks' editor. A lot of hacks will be sorry to see him go."

When Wallace appeared at Leveson Inquiry in January 2012 he used the platform to apologise to Chris Jefferies, who was wrongfully arrested on suspicion of Miss Yeates' murder.

He said: "I wish to express my sincerest regret to Mr Jefferies, his family and friends who had to see this unfold.

"We obviously caused him and his nearest and dearest great distress, which I regret, personally, greatly and I regard it as a black mark on my editing record."

The editor of the Daily Mirror newspaper also admitted it was "possible" that its scoop about Sven Goran Eriksson and Ulrika Jonsson's affair came as a result of phone hacking, but stressed he was not aware of anyone at the red top being involved in intercepting voicemail messages.

In this year’s British Press Awards the Daily Mirror scooped eight nominations, with David Collins at the Daily Mirror picking up news reporter of the year. The Sunday Mirror received no nominations.

Weaver's 11 year reign ends at Sunday Mirror

Sunday Mirror editor Weaver assumed the role in April 2001 after a long and distinguished career at the Mirror Group, having joined the company before the merger between Trinity and the Mirror Group in 1999.

Having begun her journalistic career at South West News Service, Weaver joined the Mirror Group as a journalist with The People in 1989. She then went on to work at The Daily Mirror from 1992 to 1993.

The British Press Awards handed Weaver its Reporter of the Year award in 1993 during her time at the now defunct Today, where she was features editor.

Her move into features saw her be appointed features assistant editor at the Daily Mirror in 1995 before becoming deputy editor of the Mirror in 1997.

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