Editor of The Herald newspaper and Editor-in-Chief of the Herald and Times Group, comprising The Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times newspapers at the time of the Inquiry. Gave views on Lord Black's proposals and their relevance to the situation of the press in Scotland.
At the time of the Inquiry, Blott was Regional Managing Director of Herald and Times, which published The Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times papers in Scotland and was a division of the Newsquest Media Group. Blott told the Inquiry that he had been aware of a covert journalistic investigation into political lobbying where secret recording was undertaken. The recording, which was later destroyed, complied fully with Press Complaints Commission guidelines, he told the Inquiry.
Broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. The Herald claims to be the longest-running national newspaper in the world, and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from The Glasgow Herald in 1992. Edited at the time of the Inquiry by Jonathan Russell, who gave evidence on the relationship between press and police in Strathclyde and the importance of professional press officers aiding the police.
