Eddy Shah

Selim Jehan Shah (20 January 1944 – 29 December 2025), commonly known as Eddy Shah or Eddie Shah, was a British businessman based in Manchester who was the founder of the then technologically advanced UK newspaper Today in 1986, and of the short-lived tabloid The Post. He was also the owner of the Messenger Group.

Life and career Early life and education Eddy Shah was born in Cambridge. His mother was English and his father was Iranian. Shah was educated at Karachi Grammar School, 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.

Floor assistant He was an uncredited floor assistant on the Doctor Who serials The Smugglers, The Tenth Planet, and The Power of the Daleks between 1966 and 1967.

Publisher 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 Messenger'''s offices.

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. When other newspapers reported on picketers charged with violence, the NGA shut down those newspapers too. 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. In January 1985 the NGA agreed to abide by the court orders, and removed support for the picket. The strike ended entirely in May.

In 1986 he launched Today, selling it in 1987 to Tiny Rowland's conglomerate Lonrho. He then launched The Post, which ran five weeks before shutting down. Shah sold his newspapers in 1988 and set up an independent TV company.

Personal life and death 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 was an actress playing Caligula's sister in the series. They had three children, and lived in Chippenham. The trial started at the Old Bailey on Tuesday 7 May 2013. On 12 July he was found not guilty. Shah's comments came directly after a prosecuting barrister was suspended following "inappropriate comments" concerning the rape of a 13-year-old.