Fred Corbett

Fred Corbett (died 1994) was a former Director of Information at the Scottish Office.

The Herald gave the following overview of his career:

A journalist who started his career in his native Belfast, Mr Corbett headed a staff of more than 50 people in the Scottish Office Information Directorate from 1981 until his retirement in 1992.

During that period he worked for three successive Scottish secretaries -- George Younger, Malcolm Rifkind, and Ian Lang -- and was responsible for advising on presentation and publicity to the Secretary of State.

Mr Corbett began his career in journalism in Northern Ireland with the Belfast Telegraph until 1959, when he became head of news and current affairs at Ulster Television.

He remained in that post until 1967 when he joined the Government at the Northern Ireland Office as chief press officer. There he worked for six Northern Ireland Secretaries, including Roy Mason.

Mr Corbett, who had a reputation as a model professional, spent much of his time working in London where he had a close relationship with the parliamentary lobby and was a confidant of Margaret Thatcher's former press secretary Bernard Ingham.