Editor of The Sunday Times from 1967 to 1981 and of The Times from 1981 to 1982, the period of the takeover of the papers by Rupert Murdoch's News International. Sir Harold resigned the editorship of The Times in 1982, claiming editorial interference from Murdoch, whom he described when editor as "evil incarnate". At the time of giving evidence, Sir Harold was continuing his career as a journalist and writer, primarily in North America. He said at the Inquiry that the political will for News International's takeover of the papers facilitated it happening, referencing a private meeting between then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Rupert Murdoch.
