The Sun’s deputy editor, Gordon Smart, once thought to be being groomed as a future editor of the UK’s biggest selling tabloid, is to leave after 14 years.
His departure comes as a surprise, as it is just six months after Smart, then the editor of the Scottish edition, was brought back to London in a promotion to deputy editor on the Sun.
At the time of the announcement, Scottish-born Smart, a former editor of the Bizarre pages, was described in an email by editor Tony Gallagher as “number three” on the paper after deputy editor Simon Cosyns.
In an email to staff, Gallagher said Smart’s decision to leave was to focus on his business and broadcasting career. “Gordon has enjoyed a brilliant time with News UK spanning 14 years at the Sun,” said Gallagher. “I’d like to thank him for his massive contribution to the paper, from running the Bizarre column to editing the Scottish Sun and most recently his time in London as deputy editor.”
In April, he signed up to take on a weekend show on Radio X, called Smart on Sunday, upon his return to the capital in mid-May.
“My time editing Bizarre and the Scottish Sun have given me some of the most incredible memories,” said Smart. “I can’t wait to take the next step in my career and start my own business, with __more details soon.”
Last September, Rebekah Brooks was confirmed as chief executive of News UK, the publisher of the Times, Sunday Times and the Sun, a year after she was cleared of all charges relating to the phone-hacking scandal. News UK also announced at that time that Gallagher, then the deputy editor of the Daily Mail, would become editor-in-chief of the Sun.