| Eddy Shah | |
| Birth Name: | Selim Jehan Shah |
| Birth Date: | 20 January 1944 |
| Birth Place: | Cambridge, UK |
| Occupation: | Businessman, Publisher, Author |
| Known For: | Messenger Group (Today, The Post) |
| Notable Works: | The Lucy Ghosts Ring of Red Roses Manchester Blue Fallen Angels Second World |
| Spouse: | Jennifer White Shah |
| Children: | 3 |
| Other Names: | Eddie Shah |
Selim Jehan Shah (born 20 January 1944), commonly known as Eddy Shah or Eddie Shah, is a Manchester-based businessman, the founder of the then technologically advanced UK newspaper Today in 1986, and of the short-lived tabloid The Post. He is also the former owner of the Messenger Group.[1]
Eddy Shah was born in Cambridge.[2] His mother was English and his father was Iranian. Shah was educated at Karachi Grammar School,[3] the Scottish co-educational independent boarding school of Gordonstoun, and at both Haywards Heath Grammar School and Haywards Heath Secondary Modern School, at Haywards Heath in Sussex. He then attended a Brighton cram school, where he obtained seven GCE 'O' Levels.
Shah held various jobs, amongst which was floor manager for Granada's television studio. One show he worked on was Coronation Street.[4]
After he was fired from the Manchester Evening News in 1976, he decided to launch into newspaper publishing on his own and started with the proceeds of £14,000 from the sale of his first home, in Sale, which he had bought for £4,000.
As the owner of six local newspapers, Shah employed anti-trade union laws introduced by the Margaret Thatcher governments to defeat the print unions after national strikes that went on for seven months, despite receiving death threats. The Wapping dispute followed three years later.
Shah first confronted the trade unions in July 1983 at his Warrington print works and the Manchester news offices as the owner of the Warrington Messenger, he sacked six workers when they went on strike. They had been ordered to strike by the NGA in protest against the employment of non-union members, Shah believed this to be an illegitimate reason after recent laws passed by the Thatcher government. In response, the National Graphical Association (NGA) began mass picketing of the Messengers offices.
The NGA engaged in harassment of Shah's employees, both as they crossed the picket line, and at their homes. Three hearses bearing a child sized coffin for each of Shah's three children were sent to his house. Strikers tried to physically prevent deliveries leaving the plant; each van was escorted out by police. For several weeks the situation was described by media, politicians, and unions, as a 'siege'. Several court judgements went against the strike, imposing both fines and injunctions, which were ignored by the NGA. On 29 November the courts sequestered the NGAs bank accounts to force payment, and kept them frozen as long as the NGA continued illegal action.[5] When other newspapers reported on picketers charged with violence, the NGA shut down those newspapers too.[6] In November, 1983, over four thousand trade unionists attended a mass picket. The police brought in riot-trained Police Support Units from five surrounding areas and the confrontation became physical. Baton charges were used to clear the road and allow newspaper deliveries to leave. Bottles and bricks were thrown at police, 23 police and 13 picketers were injured, 86 picketers were arrested, one of whom had a replica pistol.[7] [8] In January 1985 the NGA agreed to abide by the court orders, and removed support for the picket. The strike ended entirely in May[9]
In 1986 he launched Today, selling it in 1987 to Tiny Rowland's conglomerate Lonrho. He then launched The Post,[10] which ran five weeks before shutting down. Shah sold his newspapers in 1988 and set up an independent TV company.[2]
Shah is the author of several novels, including The Lucy Ghosts (Doubleday, 1991), Ring of Red Roses (Corgi, Doubleday, 1992), Manchester Blue (Corgi, 1993), and Fallen Angels (Doubleday, 1994). After a break from writing, he returned in 2008 with a thriller entitled Second World (Pan Books).
Shah now owns and runs golf courses, leisure centres and hotels, including the Wiltshire Golf and Country Club, Royal Wootton Bassett.[2] He has recently built 44 holiday homes at his Wiltshire Golf club. Eddy Shah no longer runs the Wiltshire Hotel and Golf Club having sold in or around 2013/14.
Shah was married to the late actress Jennifer White Shah, whom he first met while he was working for Granada Television. The company was producing The Caesars (1968) and Jennifer White[11] was an actress playing Caligula's sister in the series. They have three children, and live in Chippenham.[2]
In October 2012, he was charged with child sex offences allegedly committed in the 1990s. In December 2012, he denied six counts of rape involving a girl under 16.[12] The trial started at the Old Bailey on Tuesday 7 May 2013.[13] On 12 July he was found not guilty.
In August 2013, he said that girls who throw themselves at celebrities or who "go out and just have a good time" could themselves be to blame. In such cases, charges involving girls under the age of consent could just be a technicality. His comments drew strong criticism from the National Association of People Abused in Childhood, who said that rape was always a crime and the law was configured on the assumption that adults would want to protect children.[14] Shah's comments came directly after a prosecuting barrister was suspended following "inappropriate comments" concerning the rape of a 13-year-old.[15]