Obituary-Brian Mooney-A man of many parts

Celebrated as a journalist for his award-winning coverage of communist Poland in the early 1980s – the centrepiece of a career that took him to more than 50 countries – he went on in retirement to become a fierce critic of Reuters management.

His book Breaking News - How the Wheels Came Off at Reuters, co-written with the late Barry Simpson and published in 2003, accused Reuters management of mismanaging the rich proceeds of the company flotation in 1984, leading eventually to its need for a major cash injection through the takeover by the Thomson Corporation in 2008.

Brian, who joined Reuters as a graduate trainee in 1971, began his overseas career in Madrid before assignments in Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Chile.

He was a correspondent in Rome between 1977 and 1979, a time that included the extraordinary election of Pope John Paul II, the first non-Italian pontiff in 455 years, following the death of his predecessor after only 33 days in office.

Brian made his name in Poland, where he led coverage of the rise of the Solidarity movement and the government’s imposition of martial law in December 1981, which Reuters was the first agency to report. His wife Gail and their infant daughter Sophia had to be hurriedly evacuated by train from Poland when martial law was declared.

Editorial managers called the reporting by Brian’s team in Poland “outstanding”. They took the very rare step in those days -- when Reuters policy was not to apply for prizes -- to nominate the coverage for a Pulitzer. Although this was unsuccessful, Brian’s work was honoured by the Overseas Press Club of America.

After Poland, Brian returned to Madrid as Chief Correspondent in Spain from 1983 to 1985 and then became Chief Correspondent for the U.K. and Ireland at the height of the Margaret Thatcher years.

Following Thatcher’s third successive election victory in 1987, he moved into management with assignments including Israel and the Baltic states and later became Editor of the Reuters World magazine.

Following his early retirement from Reuters in 2000, Brian forged a new career in public relations, occasional freelance journalism, and as a councillor for 27 years in the City of London Corporation, which governs the capital’s financial “Square Mile.” With the ancient title of Chief Commoner for two years, he was titular head of the City’s legislative body, the Court of Common Council.

He was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in 2024 for services to the community in both the City of London and his hometown of Coggeshall in Essex.

He was a keen climber, skier, hiker and sailor throughout his life and his sudden illness and death was a deep shock to his family.   

He scaled many of Europe’s 4,000 metre peaks, including Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn as well as mountains in the Himalayas. His many long-distance treks included from Norfolk to Santiago De Compostela and from his Essex home to Rome and back, the latter the subject of two of six books he wrote in retirement on an eclectic range of topics.

He had a small circle of close friends but acknowledged that his lack of diplomacy and contrarian views – including denial of man-made climate change which he called mass hysteria – could upset others.

Brian leaves Gail, their three children, Sophia, Marina and Julius, and seven grandchildren aged from eight to 14 years old.

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