Ex-'Newsnight' anchor dies, aged 70

Former Newsnight anchor Donald MacCormick has died at the age of 70.

The Scottish broadcaster, who worked for both the BBC and ITV during his career, passed away today following a heart attack.

MacCormick is best remembered for presenting BBC Two's Newsnight programme alongside John Tusa and Peter Snow in the 1980s.

Paying tribute to his former co-host this afternoon, Tusa told BBC News: "He was an absolutely marvellous, generous and selfless colleague. He was part of a trio, providing an absolutely solid professional call and was just a perfect foil to both Peter and me.

"He couldn't have been easier to deal with, there were never any arguments - he just did his job in an extremely professional way and was warm, generous and thorough."

MacCormick secured his first media job in 1967 after applying to become a news reporter for Grampian Television. He had previously worked as a teacher at the High School of Glasgow for five years.

He went on to present a number of high-profile programmes, including Question Time, The Money Programme, Tonight and Newsweek.

In recent years, the journalist had moved into the corporate and media training sectors.