Stewart Steven, former editor of the Mail on Sunday, was an old-fashioned, down-to-earth journalist who started his career in the Oxford Mail's Abingdon office.

Mr Steven, pictured left in 1956, was born in Hamburg in 1935. He was brought to Britain after his Jewish parents fled Nazi Germany.

Mr Steven completed two years of National Service before joining the Abingdon Herald as a reporter, aged 20.

Living in a caravan at Nags Head Island, he was a member of the Abingdon Cricket Club and a keen rugby player. Mr Steven went on to work at the Manchester Guardian before moving to the Daily Express and the Mail on Sunday, which he edited from 1982-1992.

Mr Steven, who is survived by his wife Inka and stepson, also edited the London Evening Standard and Punch and wrote three books.