David Gow, who covered Germany for the Guardian, dies aged 80

David Gow, a former Germany correspondent and European business editor of the Guardian whose strong commitment to social justice and to the EU project continued long after he left the paper, has died aged 80.

- Jon Henley Europe correspondent

Gow joined the Scotsman as a graduate trainee in 1969 before becoming the paper's first Europe correspondent, then labour correspondent and finally its London editor.

Gow moved to the Guardian in 1989. He was briefly education editor before going to Bonn to cover one of the most momentous periods in Germany's postwar history, including the reunification of east and west Germany in 1990.

He then moved to the business and industry desk in London before heading to Brussels as European business correspondent, where he stayed until he retired in 2012.

"David was the sort of versatile, reliable correspondent who never let you down and would get his teeth into a breaking story with speed and skill," said Simon Tisdall, a former Guardian foreign editor.