Dame Ann Leslie, the first lady of journalism, dies aged 82

Tributes were paid today to veteran Daily Mail journalist Dame Ann Leslie, who has died at the age of 82.

Hailed as one of the great foreign correspondents, Dame Ann witnessed defining moments of world history, including the fall of the Berlin Wall and the release of Nelson Mandela.

She won numerous awards for a career which spanned half a century, and which saw her interview princes and presidents and smuggle herself into trouble spots around the world.

Her fearless approach to reporting meant she flouted Robert Mugabe’s ban on Western journalists to get into Zimbabwe, where she was pursued by the despot’s secret service, and she donned disguises to meet with dissidents in Iran.

She was equally formidable while writing showbusiness features, and once punched a young Muhammad Ali in the jaw because the heavyweight boxer was not paying attention during an interview.

One of few women to hold high-profile jobs in Fleet Street in the 1960s, she was propositioned by David Niven, had a romance with James Mason, and used a Marks and Spencer petticoat to fly as a white flag on her car as she covered a civil war in El Salvador.

Dame Ann worked for the Mail from the 1960s and filed articles from more than 70 countries. She covered the Falklands War, the failed coup against Mikhail Gorbachev in Russia and the famine in North Korea.

She won nine British Press awards, two lifetime achievement awards and the 1999 James Cameron award for international reporting. She was given a damehood in 2007 for services to journalism.

Viscount Rothermere, chairman of the Daily Mail’s parent company DMGT, said: ‘Ann was a brilliant journalist with the courage of a lion. 

‘Her incisive and insightful writing informed and entertained millions of Daily Mail readers over many decades. As well as being a much-loved colleague, she was a mentor and inspiration to generations of aspiring female journalists.

‘In the best tradition of war correspondents, she brought home to readers the terrible consequences of conflicts by viewing them through the prism of humanity. 

‘The Daily Mail is profoundly proud of her, and there are many like myself who have lost a great friend. She is sorely missed.’ 

Former Mail editor Paul Dacre, now editor-in-chief of the Mail’s publisher DMG Media, said: ‘Ann was one of the most brilliant foreign correspondents of her generation.

Dame Ann worked for the Mail from the 1960s and filed articles from more than 70 countries

‘She was as fearless on battlefields in the Middle East or the Balkans as she was at ferreting out the truth in Washington, the Kremlin or Beijing, where her contacts were incomparable. And, wherever she went, she was a magnificent ambassador for the Daily Mail.

‘Possessed of a razor mind, she was also blessed with the creative flair that made the most complex, geopolitical issues not only accessible but actually exciting for the general reader. A smasher of glass ceilings, she was a groundbreaking figure in the craft of journalism.’

Historian AN Wilson said: ‘She was a legend. A great foreign correspondent. She was very brave and didn’t mind who she upset, but she was never unkind.’

Journalist and broadcaster John Humphrys said: ‘She was one of the greats, by any standard. If the byline said Ann Leslie, then you read it.’

Dame Ann was married to Michael Fletcher, whom she met while at Oxford. The couple have a daughter, Katharine.