Former BBC Scotland head of news Ken Cargill dies aged 65

KEN CARGILL, a former head of news and current affairs at BBC Scotland, has died at the age of 65 following an illness.

Mr Cargill joined the BBC as a researcher in 1972, before becoming involved with reporting, film directing, production and editing. He was appointed head of news and current affairs in 1988, and later assumed responsibility for sport, radio and online news.

Mr Cargill left BBC Scotland in 2002 after 30 years with the company, and is credited with discovering and developing broadcast journalists, many of whom are still involved with BBC Scotland.

The director of BBC Scotland, Ken MacQuarrie, described Mr Cargill as a “hugely talented” journalist who led the news team during a period of “huge change and through some major stories of international significance”.

He said: “Ken was a big personality who had an incisive mind and a superb understanding of what our audiences wanted from the BBC news team.

“He dealt with serious issues in a serious way but he also had a wicked sense of humour and could be great fun to be around.

“Our thoughts go out to them at this very sad time.”