Prime Minister David Cameron has led tributes to the former editor of The Times, William Rees-Mogg, who has died at the age of 84.
BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten said: "William Rees-Mogg was a great journalist and editor, and a distinguished public servant, for example at the Arts Council and BBC.
"My family knew him as a kind and good man, generous, spirited, warm, witty, and the much-loved father of a close and talented family.
"Everyone who knew him will miss him deeply."
– Prime Minister David CameronWilliam Rees-Mogg is rightly a Fleet Street legend - editing The Times through a tumultuous period with flair and integrity. I always found him full of wisdom and good advice - particularly when I first became Leader of the Opposition. My thoughts are with his wife and five children at this sad time.
Very sad to learn of the death of Times legend, true professional and man of decency and honour William Rees-Mogg.
From @Dannythefink on Twitter:William Rees-Mogg has died. May he Rest In Peace. @timesopinion pages won't be the same without him.
From @TimMontgomerie on Twitter:
The former editor of The Times, William Rees-Mogg, has died at the age of 84 following a short illness, the newspaper has announced.
Lord Rees-Mogg edited the paper from January 1967 up until March 1981, when Rupert Murdoch completed his purchase of The Times and The Sunday Times titles.
His younger son, Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, said his father, who also chaired the Arts Council and vice-chaired the BBC during his distinguished career, had been diagnosed in recent weeks with inoperable oesophageal cancer.