Friends and colleagues gathered last night to mark the retirement after 29 years with the Press Association of systems editor Mike Watson, writes Jean Morgan.
Mike was one of the two people on the PA newsdesk - the other was news editor Mike Parry - who decided to go with the news of the death of Princess Diana in the Paris car crash before it was officially confirmed. It gave PA a world scoop.
Watson and Parry had heard from reporter Charlie Miller at a Manila airport that the then Foreign Secretary Robin Cook had been given a piece of paper saying the Princess was dead.
In his latter years with PA, Watson was also on the desk when 9/11 broke and in the building in his role of trainer of students when the 7/7 London bombings happened.
The leaving party was held at The Jugged Hare pub in Vauxhall Bridge Road where PA editor Jonathan Grun related the high spots of Mike's career.
Mike will return temporarily to PA in September to help train sub-editors for the Daily Mail.
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