Mike Hunter has died at the age of 64. Mike arrived at Bush House in the late nineteen sixties and worked in the newsroom on and off for many years. He was a taciturn Scot who was shrewd but sometimes endearingly innocent. A complex man, he had a sharp wit and a well-honed sense of the ridiculous. He was a fine journalist, with a clear, no-frills style which made him a prized asset on the central writing desk team. Editors knew he could handle anything they threw at him because he was unflappable. Mike was also Father of the Chapel during a turbulent period in the Seventies when there were difficult staffing issues to be sorted out. He was hugely effective in the role, keeping a tight rein on emotions but never shirking from plain speaking with management when he felt it was necessary. Mike wasn't one for instant friendship but if you passed muster he was the staunchest of mates. There are certain people whose very presence on a shift can make it a much more enjoyable experience than it might otherwise have been. Mike was one of those. He left from time to time to work on newspapers in Scotland but was always welcomed back to Bush. In his last spell in the newsroom - in the 1990's - he was suffering from health problems and was a shadow of his former self. I'll remember him with great fondness as Best Man at my wedding, a task he handled with aplomb.
David McNeil
Bush House newsroom 1969 - 71