Patten joins the board

THE NEW management of Independent Newspapers UK, headed by MD Brendan Hopkins, will report to a board of eight chaired by Liam Healy, chief executive of Independent Newspapers in Ireland.

Joining the board is Tony O'Reilly, credited with building the Independent Newspapers empire in Dublin, and Chris Patten (top), former Hong Kong governor and Conservative Party chairman. Also joining is Baroness Helena Kennedy (above), QC and Labour peer, and Dr Maurice Hayes, former Northern Ireland Ombudsman and now Irish Senate member. Andreas Whittam Smith, founder of The Independent remains on the board, as does Ben Bradlee, former executive editor of the Washington Post.