In Suez he made the acquaintance of Michael Parkinson, who at the time was in charge of liaising with the press, and they would later work together for the Granada regional news programme, Scene at 6.30.
While at Granada he wrote an episode of Coronation Street[1] and did a series of interviews with Clement Attlee which the former prime minister agreed to if published posthumously.
This City is Ours (US title: Target Manhattan) about a native American hijacking of a ship in New York harbour; The Predator which told the story of a wealthy businessman kidnapping Common Market leaders during a summit and which includes a long section set during the Suez Crisis.
The last one, Rogue Hercules, tells of amoral pilots carrying a plane load of arms over southern African countries in search of a buyer.
His Guardian obituary called him a ‘Fresh Breeze in Moscow’, relating to his stint working as the correspondent there for the Daily Express.