CEO Mike Darcey has paid tribute to News UK legal chief Paul Chinnery (pictured), who died at the weekend.

General Counsel Chinnery, who was 48, had been suffering from cancer.

News UK chief executive Darcey said: “Paul was a calm and very capable lawyer who helped steer this company through some turbulent times with sound wisdom and empathy.

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He deployed a dry and gentle humour which stayed with him till the end. His determination and dignity throughout his illness was humbling and an example to us all.

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Chinnery was appointed General Counsel for News UK in May 2012. He oversaw all legal matters relating to editorial, the new compliance structure and the company’s commercial activity.

Before joining News UK, he led a legal team at payment processing company WorldPay. He previously spent 13 years at Channel 5 where he was Director of Legal and Commercial Affairs and Company Secretary until 2010.

Following qualification as a solicitor, he worked as a commercial and media litigator in private practice with Stephens Innocent. He was a founding committee member of the Media Lawyers Association.

Chinnery graduated from the University of Nottingham with a History BA before reading law at Trent Polytechnic.

He married his long-standing partner Jess last November.

News UK’s Head of Commercial Legal Affairs, Emma Moloney, has been appointed General Counsel on an interim basis.