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Leo Devine has been announced as the new Head of Regional & Local Programmes for ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ South West.Ìý

He takes over the role from Jane McCloskey who now takes up a new appointment for the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ leading on its relations with the independent sector as Head of Supplier Management, Commissioning.

Leo's broadcasting career began in the Eighties when he worked as a journalist and presenter for the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ in the East Midlands and London.Ìý He was appointed Assistant Editor at ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Leicester in 1991 and became Managing Editor of ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Cornwall in 1995.

After a spell as Acting Head of Regional & Local Programmes in the South West in 1997, he took up the post of Editor, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Cambridge. Here he was the driving force behind the television and radio news-gathering operation for the area serving Cambridgeshire and the surrounding counties.

In 1998, he became Head of Regional & Local Programmes for ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ West based in Bristol, and then moved on to be Head of Programming for the South West between 1999 and 2003. Since then he has run ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ North West and ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ South East, while for the past four years he has had a number of senior roles co-ordinating editorial links between network news and the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ newsrooms in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the English Regions.Ìý More recently he has been leading on editorial standards for all of ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ News.

Leo said: "I am delighted to be coming back to my home region.Ìý The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ is proud of its long association with the South West and its reputation for excellence in local and regional output.Ìý The region is full of talented people producing creative and compelling programmes everyday for the audiences we serve.Ìý It will be a privilege to be the Head of ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ South West."

The Controller of ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ English Regions, David Holdsworth, said: "Leo is one of our most senior editorial leaders with an excellent track record and I know he is keen to use all this experience to build on the work Jane has begun in the region."

KB2