Neil Wallis

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Neil John Wallis (born 4 October 1950)^[1] is a former newspaper editor in the United Kingdom.

Early life

This section requires expansion.

Wallis was born in Lincolnshire.^[2] He attended Skegness Grammar School^{[citation needed]}.

Career

Journalism

Wallis worked for News International from 1986, rising to become Deputy Editor of The Sun from 1993. He left in 1998 and took up the editorship of The People. In 2003, he moved to become Deputy Editor of the News of the World, and in 2007 he became Executive Editor of the paper. In May 2009, he announced that he would be leaving his post later in the year.^[3] He was known as "the wolf man" by fellow journalists.^[4]

Wallis is a former member of the Editors' Code of Practice Committee at the Press Complaints Commission.^[5]

Public relations

After leaving journalism he worked for the Outside Organisation, a company specialising in public relations,^[6] becoming Managing Director in 2010.^[7] Wallis' own company, Chamy Media, provided "strategic communication advice and support" to the Metropolitan Police on a part-time basis from October 2009 to September 2010 whilst the Met's Deputy Director of Public Affairs was on extended sick leave.^[8][9]

It is alleged that while recovering from illness Sir Paul Stephenson, head of the Metropolitan Police, accepted a free extended stay (worth £12,000) at a Champneys health spa, a company which then employed Wallis for PR work.^[10] Upon announcing his resignation from the Metropolitan Police on 17 July 2011, Stephenson acknowledged that his decision to resign was "in particular in relation to Neil Wallis".^[11]

Arrest

On 14 July 2011, Mr Wallis was arrested by the Metropolitan Police investigating the News of the World phone hacking scandal.^[12] Upon the announcement of this Outside Organisation edited their website, removing his listing as MD and a part of his biography which had stated "What he [Wallis] doesn’t know about journalism and media isn’t worth knowing".^[13]

See Also

• News International phone hacking scandal
• Phone hacking scandal reference lists
• Metropolitan police role in phone hacking scandal

References

External links

• Collected news and commentary at The Independent
• "Scotland Yard Stint Lands Former Editor in Spotlight", Wall Street Journal, 21 July 2011