Bridget Rowe (16 March 1950 – 12 January 2021) was a British newspaper editor.

Life and career

Rowe worked for a succession of magazines: ''19'', ''

Petticoat A petticoat or underskirt is an article of clothing, a type of undergarment worn under a skirt or a dress. Its precise meaning varies over centuries and between countries. According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', in current British En ...

'', ''Club'', ''Look Now'' and ''Woman's World'', before becoming Assistant Editor of '' The Sun'', then editor of "Sunday", the '' News of the World'' magazine. In 1986, Rowe became editor of ''

Woman's Own ''Woman's Own'' is a British lifestyle magazine aimed at women. Publication ''Woman's Own'' was first published in 1932 by Newnes. In its early years it placed women's rights and social problems firmly in the foreground. Its first "agony aunt" was ...

'', then left to become editor of ''

TV Times ''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, which ...

''. Rowe edited the '' Sunday Mirror'' from 1991 to 1992, then moved to edit ''

The People The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881. At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ...

''. In 1993 ''The People'' published a photo of

Sonia Sutcliffe Sonia Szurma-Woodward (née Oksana Szurma; born 10 August 1950), known as Sonia Sutcliffe, is the former wife of the British serial killer Peter Sutcliffe. Marriage to Sutcliffe Sonia married Peter William Sutcliffe on 10 August 1974, her 24th bi ...

taken by a freelance photographer that breached

Press Complaints Commission The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014, and was replaced by the Inde ...

code of conduct on privacy. Her refusal to accept respsponsibility for the actions of the photographer was described by the PCC as "lamentable". In 1995, she became managing director of both newspapers, and in 1997 she returned to editing the ''Sunday Mirror'' for a year. After this she served as the Director of Communications for the

National Magazine Company National Magazine Company (or Nat Mags) is a British magazine publisher based in London. It was established in 1910 by William Randolph Hearst and was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation. Arnaud de Puyfontaine became chief execut ...

, and later was the content director of Yava until it closed in 2001.Inside Story: The ex-editors' files
, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', 9 May 2005 She was a panelist on the first series of '' Loose Women'' in 1999. A friend"Libertas faces UK electoral hurdle over party name"
, Irish Times, Friday, January 23, 2009 of

United Kingdom Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

(UKIP) leader

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage (; born 3 April 1964) is a British broadcaster and former politician who was Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 to 2009 and 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Brexit Party (renamed Reform UK in 2021) from 2 ...

, Rowe registered as the leader of Libertas UK with the United Kingdom

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

in December 2008, in order to prevent

Declan Ganley Declan James Ganley (born 23 July 1968) is an English-born Irish entrepreneur, businessman, and political activist. He was the founder and leader of the Irish branch of the Libertas Party. Primarily a telecommunications entrepreneur, Ganley has ...

's political party

Libertas Libertas (Latin for 'liberty' or 'freedom', ) is the Roman goddess and personification of liberty. She became a politicised figure in the Late Republic, featured on coins supporting the populares faction, and later those of the assassins of ...

from fielding candidates in the UK's European Parliament elections in 2009 under that name. Rowe worked as public relations chief for the businessman and UKIP donor

Arron Banks Arron Fraser Andrew Banks (born 1966) is a British businessman and political donor. He is the co-founder (with Richard Tice) of the Leave.EU campaign. Banks was previously one of the largest donors to the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and helped ...

. Rowe died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

in Farnborough on 12 January 2021, at the age of 70, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Bridget 1950 births 2021 deaths English magazine editors English newspaper editors UK Independence Party people The Sunday People people Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in England