Fatal attack on journalist ‘unprovoked’

A FORMER BBC journalist died after an “unprovoked and vicious” street attack in New Zealand, police have said.

Phillip Cottrell, 43, was found with serious injuries near the Wellington offices of Radio New Zealand where he worked early on Saturday morning.

He was taken to Wellington Hospital, where he underwent surgery, but died yesterday.

Police in New Zealand said they were treating it as a homicide and a post-mortem examination is to be carried out later.

Detective Senior Sergeant Scott Miller of the Wellington CIB said: “At this stage, his death appears to be unprovoked. We are determined to find those responsible for this vicious attack and bring them to justice.”

Friends and former colleagues at BBC Scotland said he was a “gentle, kind man with an impish sense of humour”.

They said they were “devastated by his senseless death”. Mr Cottrell worked for BBC Scotland in Glasgow and emigrated to New Zealand in 2006.