Jillian McDonough [Catherine McDonough]

A TENACIOUS journalist who was a thorn in the side of Conservatives running Westminster City Council during the Shirley Porter scandal she helped to expose has died aged 85.

Jillian McDonough worked for the Paddington & Kilburn Times from the 1970s until 1991.

She also broke the news of the council selling its municipal cemeteries at East Finchley and Mill Hill for just £1 each to save on maintenance costs.

Labour councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, who was in opposition at the time of the scandal, told the Extra: “Jillian was a tenacious journalist who followed the Homes for Votes and 15p cemeteries scandals from start to finish and made sure the latest details were in the Paddington Times every week. The Tories hated her! The news of her passing is very sad but she will always have an important place in the campaign to expose the biggest scandal in local government history.”

The Paddington Times is now the Brent and Kilburn Times, published by Newsquest.

Jillian’s daughter, the actress Catherine McDonough, told the Brent and Kilburn Times: “She was always talking about her stories when I was growing up, interviewing leading public figures but giving voice to those who may not have been heard.”

She died on February 9.