Smyth Harper
The journalist and experienced public sector communications manager Smyth Harper, has taken voluntary severance from Manchester city council and is now based with the comms team at the Police and Crime Commissioner in Manchester.
Harper has been on secondment with the Commissioner’s office since January but has not yet formally taken on a staff position.
Harper is a journalist by background who cut his teeth working for BBC news web site operations in Birmingham and Manchester before he took a job with the Manchester Evening News as a reporter.
He joined Greater Manchester Police in 2005 and rose to become the deputy director of communications within the force’s sizeable comms department.
In 2009 he joined Manchester city council as head of press and media, latterly reporting to Sara Tomkins, assistant chief executive of Communications, Customer & ICT at the council.
He also recently appeared on the Good Friday edition of the BBC daytime quiz show Pointless.
