As a foreign correspondent, he was noted for reporting from war zones for the BBC's Panorama and for ITV.

He was educated at Bedford School and studied English Literature at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he was chair of the film society.

He joined ITN, working as a war reporter in Africa, Asia and in the Middle East.

[4][5] In 2008, he was elected to the council of the Royal Free Hospital,[6] for which he was latterly lead governor, and other charitable work included chairing the Voice of the Listener & Viewer and also the St Pancras Almshouses, a sheltered accommodatiion charity.

[10] Lindley died at home in London on 6 November 2019 of heart disease, a month after having been run over by a lorry when crossing the road and suffering multiple injuries.