Newspaper pals send messages of support to journalist Donald MacLeod - left in coma after cop car accident

Published: 14 May 2010
by PETER GRUNER

FORMER colleagues of journalist Donald MacLeod who remains in a coma after he was hit by a police car have wished him a speedy recovery.

Father-of-three Mr MacLeod, 60, was thrown off his bicycle during the accident at the junction of Southgate Road and Northchurch Road on March 24.

An investigation into the incident is still under way and there is an appeal for witnesses.  The police car, which had its siren and emergency lights on, had been on its way to a shooting on Wilton estate, off Greenwood Road, in Hackney, during which a teenage boy was shot in the leg.

Mr MacLeod is in intensive care at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. His wife Barbara, from Stoke Newington, said her husband’s injuries were “serious and extensive” and asked for witnesses to come forward.

Mr MacLeod’s former colleagues at the Guardian described him as a “lovely, sensitive, wise and clever man who has time for everyone and enthusiasm for everything”.

Judy Friedberg, production editor of the Guardian’s Education and Society websites, was Mr MacLeod’s deputy before he left  the paper last year.

She said: “A kinder, funnier, cleverer boss I couldn’t have hoped for. There’s been an out­pouring of sympathy at the paper, and daily enquiries as to his medical progress.

“The crash was a brutal thing to happen to such a gentle person, and it’s crucial that we learn the truth about that event from those who saw it.”

Jessica Aldred, environment production editor and also a former colleague of Mr MacLeod, said everyone who knows him has been shocked and upset on hearing about the accident.

She added: “We are all willing him to get better. When I think of Donald I often picture him setting off on his bike with his helmet and leather satchel.

“He would want anyone who has information to come forward so that we can help to make London’s roads a safer place for cyclists and ensure that riding a bike is not something to be feared.”

Mr MacLeod is head of communications at the Russell Group of universities.

Dr Wendy Piatt, director of the Russell Group, said Mr MacLeod’s colleagues were missing him “immeasurably”.

She added: “Even in the short time he has been with us Donald has made a huge difference across all our endeavours – not least in creating a website that we can be proud of, and contributing to the intellectual robustness and ­persuasiveness of our arguments.

“Most importantly, he is one of the most generous and thoughtful, as well as one of the wit­tiest colleagues you could wish for.”

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said there were no significant updates in the investigation.