Greg Miskiw (born Ihor Miskiw; December 1949 – 25 September 2021) was a British journalist and news editor of the defunct tabloid newspaper the '' News of the World''.

Career

Miskiw was born in Leeds, Yorkshire in December 1949 and is of Ukrainian descent. He began a career in journalism after taking the National Council for the Training of Journalists' one-year full-time entry course at Highbury Technical College,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, in 1968-69.

Mirror Group

During the 1980s, Miskiw worked as a reporter for tabloid papers published by the Mirror Group. He was arrested by the Polish authorities for visa irregularities in 1981 while working for the '' Sunday Mirror''. He later moved to work for the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

''.

News of the World

By 2001 Miskiw was working for the ''News of the World'' as assistant editor on the news desk. There he helped to co-ordinate the work of

Mazher Mahmood Mazher Mahmood (born 22 March 1963) is an undercover British journalist who was convicted of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Before his conviction, he worked mainly for the tabloid press. He spent 20 years working for the ''News ...

(also known as the fake sheikh), particularly Mahmood's taping of frank unguarded comments by

Sophie, Countess of Wessex Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar, (born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, 20 January 1965) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, the youngest brother of King Charles III. She grew u ...

about various political figures and members of the Royal Family. He became assistant editor (news and investigations) in 2001. In April 2002 ''News of the Worlds crime editor Peter Rose resigned following the collapse of a proposed interview with a witness to the death of Damilola Taylor. In 2003 an employment tribunal ruled in favour of Rose's case for

constructive dismissal In employment law, constructive dismissal, also called constructive discharge or constructive termination, occurs when an employee resigns as a result of the employer creating a hostile work environment. Since the resignation was not truly volunt ...

. The tribunal chairman was particularly critical of Greg Miskiw, who failed to inform the reporters that the funding which would have enabled the interview to occur was not in place until all of the parties were ready to begin. The chairman said the Miskiw's manner was "cavalier and irresponsible" adding that Miskiw's actions "could no doubt affect the reputation of the applicant". Later that year Miskiw moved to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

to oversee ''News of the World's'' north of England office. Speaking of the activities of the ''News of the World'', Miskiw was once infamously quoted as saying:

Post-News of the World

Miskiw left the ''News of the World'' in 2005. He acted as editor of the Mercury Press Agency and planned to buy shares in the company, but was dismissed after 5 months. He subsequently moved to Delray Beach,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

working for the tabloid newspaper the

Globe A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model glo ...

for two months in early 2011. In June of that year he started a company named "News Inc LLC". In July following conversations between his solicitor and British police he returned to the UK. Miskiw was arrested on 10 August 2011 as part of Operation Weeting on suspicion of unlawful interception of communications. He was released on police bail the following day. On 24 July 2012, he was charged with conspiracy to intercept communications without lawful authority during the period from 3 October 2000 to 9 August 2006 from the phones of Milly Dowler, Sven-Göran Eriksson, Abigail Titmuss, John Leslie Andrew Gilchrist,

David Blunkett David Blunkett, Baron Blunkett, (born 6 June 1947) is a British Labour Party politician who has been a Member of the House of Lords since 2015, and previously served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough ...

MP,

Delia Smith Delia Ann Smith (born 18 June 1941) is an English cook and television presenter, known for teaching basic cookery skills in a no-nonsense style. One of the best known celebrity chefs in British popular culture, Smith has influenced viewers t ...

Charles Clarke Charles Rodway Clarke (born 21 September 1950) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Norwich South from 1997 until 2010, and served as Home Secretary from December 2004 until May 2006. Early life T ...

MP, Jude Law,

Sadie Frost Sadie Liza Frost (née Vaughan; born 19 June 1965) is an English actress, producer and fashion designer, who ran fashion label Frost French (until its closure in 2011) and a film production company (Blonde to Black Pictures). Early life Frost ...

, Sienna Miller, and

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while ...

Personal life

Miskiw was of Ukrainian descent. His first name is actually Ihor. His former girlfriend, Terenia Taras, a freelance journalist who wrote stories for the ''News of the World'', has also been arrested as part of Operation Weeting. Miskiw lived in the coastal town of

Delray Beach, Florida Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020 was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States Census. Located 52 miles (83 kilometers) north of Miami, Delray Beach is in the ...

in the United States, and had two children. Miskiw was also a passionate supporter of

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

. He pleaded guilty at R v Coulson, Brooks and others and was sentenced to six months in prison. Miskiw suffered a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream ( embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include shortness of breath, chest pain particularly upon breathin ...

in April 2021, and was diagnosed with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

in August. He died on 25 September 2021, at the age of 71. He was survived by his mother and his two children.Former NotW exec Greg Miskiw dies aged 71 seven years after hacking prison term
/ref>

References