Colin Bell (journalist)

For other people, see Colin Bell (disambiguation).

Colin J. Bell (1 April 1938 – 9 October 2021) was a Scottish journalist, broadcaster and author.

Bell was educated at St Paul's School, London, and King's College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1959 with a first-class degree in the Historical Tripos.[1] He went on to become a journalist with various newspapers, including The Scotsman, and was once editor of The Scots Independent. He made the transition to broadcasting with BBC Radio Scotland in 1984.[2]

Bell served the Scottish National Party (SNP) as Executive Vice-Chairman from 1978 to 1984, and was the party's Campaign Director for the European Parliament elections in 1984. In 1979 he stood as SNP Parliamentary Candidate for Edinburgh West,[3] and also as the European Parliamentary Candidate for North East Scotland that same year.[4] In June 1996, he was the 13th Scot to be presented with the Oliver Brown Award.[2] He later left the SNP to join the Scottish Socialist Party.[5][6]

Bell wrote Murder Trail: Death for a Living.[7][8] He served as Rector of Aberdeen University from 1991 to 1993.[2]

Bell died on 9 October 2021, at the age of 83.[9]

  1. ^ 'Cambridge Tripos Results', Times, 26 June 1959.
  2. ^ a b c "Dr Colin Bell". Scots Independent. Archived from the original on 1 December 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
  3. ^ "Candidates and Constituency Assessments: Edinburgh West". Scottish Politics Research Unit. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
  4. ^ "European Parliamentary Elections: North-east Scotland". Scottish Politics Research Unit. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
  5. ^ "Dr Colin Bell". Scots Independent. 11 May 2001. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
  6. ^ Arnold Kemp (13 May 2001). "Devolution's sweet honeytrap". The Observer. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
  7. ^ "Murder Trail". Foyles. Retrieved 17 August 2008.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ Colin Bell (academic) (2002). Murder trail : death for a living. London: Grenada Media. ISBN 978-0-233-05099-7.
  9. ^ "Obituary: Colin Bell, formidable broadcaster who delighted in being intellectually provocative". The Herald. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2022.