Times Editor Takes Break For Treatment

The editor of the Times is taking a break from the position to undergo treatment for a tumour. News International, the parent company of the newspaper, said that Peter Stothard would return to full-time editing in a few months.

His imminent departure was announced on Tuesday but the reason behind his decision was not revealed, fuelling speculation that it was connected to the news that Michael Ashcroft, the Tory party treasurer, was in line for a peerage. The Times was sued by Ashcroft last year over its coverage of his business dealings, although legal action was later dropped.

Stothard decided to disclose the reason behind his departure after the rumours emerged. He told staff that he has not been “eased out of the editor’s chair, even temporarily, at the instigation of Mr Ashcroft, his acolytes and satellites.”

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