Media boss Deirdre Romanes dies aged 60

DEIRDRE Romanes, the chief executive of the Scottish media group Dunfermline Press, has died.

She had been ill for some time and passed away at her home in Heriot Row yesterday morning.

Ms Romanes, 60, had led the company on a major expansion in recent years, through acquisitions in Ireland and Scotland.

She also oversaw the purchase of Berkshire Regional Newspapers and its 14 titles from Trinity Mirror in 2008.

She was a patron of a number of Edinburgh arts institutions.

Dunfermline Press chairman Donald McDonald said: "Deirdre was an outstanding businesswoman who over the last 25 years built the business to where it is today."