BBC TV and Radio News Editor Laurie Margolis is leaving the broadcaster after 50 years.
The journalist, 74, has been hailed as a BBC “legend”, having broke the news of Argentina’s invasion of the Falkland Islands back in 1982.
Laurie’s BBC colleagues rushed to social media after the news of his retirement was announced on BBC Radio 4 PM on Wednesday evening.
© BBCBBC Breakfast star Jon Kay bid farewell to Laurie as he reshared a clip on X from his latest interview on BBC Radio 4 PM. “Laurie Margolis aka G3UML. Leaving the BBC after 50 years,” wrote the presenter. “Everyone who’s worked in News knows and respects him. Lovely chap. Remarkable career. And what a story this is.”
Other BBC staff also paid tribute to Laurie, including West of England Correspondent Dan Johnson, who wrote: “An absolute legend of BBC News, one of the steadiest hands on the newsdesk and a total gentleman. I got to know the name Laurie Margolis as soon as I started in local radio and he’s been an enormous pleasure to work with.
“We’ll miss Laurie’s unrivalled experience and ingenuity,” he added.
Meanwhile, Robert Thompson, who is Head of the BBC in London and the East, penned: “A legend leaves the building. When it was all going off and you rang the newsdesk in a minor panic you knew it would be okay when Laurie picked up. So encouraging of our local teams and someone who truly understood the local expertise we brought.”
Laurie began his career at Radio Sheffield before going on to work for BBC Radio 4. In 1982, he broke the biggest story of his career after obtaining information about the Argentinian invasion of the Falkland Islands using amateur radio.
© BBCLaurie, whose callsign is G3UML, used a short-wave transceiver which was connected to an aerial on the roof of the Langham Hotel in London to establish radio contact with Bob McLeod, who lived in the settlement of Goose Green on East Falkland.
The news of Laurie’s retirement was announced on BBC Radio 4 PM on Wednesday evening by host Evan Davis. He told listeners: “Now one of our BBC colleagues is retiring this week. He’s been at the corporation for 50 years, believe it or not. Laurie Margolis is his name and here on PM, we wanted to mark his departure as he gave this programme one of its biggest scoops back in 1982.”
Laurie lives in north London with his wife Jacky, with whom he shares two daughters.
