Brian Vine, the journalist as bon viveur

Brian Vine, one of those reporters who assumed "Fleet Street legend" status, has died, aged 74. Today's Daily Mail describes him as debonair and "monocle-sporting" and refers to his leaving "a legacy of scoops that spanned decades". Vine initially made his name at the Daily Express in its heyday, running the New York bureau, and later and switched to the Daily Mail, becoming its foreign editor and managing editor. He was involved in several controversial stories, such as the discovery of the runner Zola Budd, the disastrous attempt by Scotland Yard to arrest Ronnie Biggs and the Lord Lucan disappearance. In an affectionate farewell, Mail columnist Peter Mackay recalls Vine's classic instruction to "maitre d's worldwide: 'Your finest table and smallest bill, if you please.'"