Christopher Wighton Moncrieff, known as Chris, was born in Derby on 9 September 1931 to Robert Moncrieff and Winifred Margaret Hydon. He had one sister (Ruth) and one half-brother (Ian). Both his father and grandfather were scientists.

Moncrieff attended Ocktbrook Moravian School, Nottingham High School, and Ellesmere College. As an adolescent, Moncrieff undertook work in solicitor’s office, but from an early age he aspired to become a journalist. He began an apprenticeship in journalism in 1949, which involved on-the-job training at the Harrogate Herald, where he mainly reported on court proceedings.

At age 20, Moncrieff undertook his mandatory military service. He was drafted to Malaya [later part of Malaysia] as a batman on a troopship. After completing his military service, he returned to journalism, with the aim of working for a national newspaper. He worked for the Coventry Evening Telegraph then the Nottingham Evening Post, spending several years at each newspaper. He also undertook factory work in Poitiers and Dusseldorf to build language skills.

In 1960, Moncrieff met Margaret (Maggie) Ferguson, an actor who worked in repertory theatre and pantomime. The couple married in 1961 and had four children.

In 1962, Moncrieff began working as a parliamentary reporter for the Press Association (now PA News). He stayed at the Press Association for the remainder of his career, becoming a lobby correspondent and eventually a political editor working in the House of Commons. A highlight of his early career was being the first reporter on the scene of the Great Train Robbery in 1963.

Moncrieff’s work as a political reporter took him around the world. He accompanied Conservative prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major on international visits to Asia and Africa. He travelled as part of the press corps on Margaret Thatcher’s visit to the Falkland Islands in 1983. While based in London, he broke several major stories about parliamentarians resigning from their posts, including the resignations of Geoffrey Howe, Nigel Lawson, and Thatcher herself.

While working in Parliament, Moncrieff built professional relationships and friendships with MPs across the political spectrum. He remained in personal contact with many parliamentarians after his retirement. He officially retired in 1994, although he continued to work for the Press Association in the capacity of writing obituaries, including preparing obituaries for public figures in advance of their deaths. He also continued writing columns for various newspapers into the 2010s.

Moncrieff was awarded a CBE in 1990. He published two books about his life as a political reporter: ‘Living on a Deadline’ (2001) and ‘Wine, Women and Westminster’ (2014). He was working on a third book in the 2010s. He died on 22 November 2019.