Geordie Greig returns to Fleet Street

They say you can’t keep a good man down. Geordie Greig, one of the finest networkers in British journalism, has returned to Fleet Street after a brief 13-month hiatus away. The Old Etonian was axed as the Daily Mail editor in a power struggle in November 2021 and since then he’s kept a low profile, setting up his own company and chairing the Friends of the National Libraries.

Now though, he’s back, taking up the reins as editor in chief of the Independent with immediate effect. Lord Lebedev is the major shareholder in the Independent’s parent company: Greig previously edited the Evening Standard for the peer and still owns five per cent of that paper, in which the Russian press baron also has a stake. The Indy hasn’t had a full time editor since 2020 and just made a number of staff redundant – including its well-respected lobby team. The former newspaper, which went digital-only in 2016, now says it’s targeting American readers instead.