washington, d.c. was to be heren's last foreign posting before being promoted. in 1971 he returned to "the times" as deputy editor and foreign editor under william rees-mogg. despite the difficulties of running a newspaper in the 1970s, he nurtured many notable talents, including robert fisk, peter hennessy and paul vallely. with his independent, earthy and instinctual style, he was't always happy within the confines of the editorial offices. in 1979, he oversaw the joint interviews, in "the times" boardroom, with sir anthony blunt after he was unmasked as the fifth man in the cambridge soviet spy ring. heren drew fierce criticism from some newspapers after it became known he had asked for kippers to be brought in from a nearby smokehouse for blunt's lunch. when rupert murdoch acquired the paper, heren was the staff choice as rees-mogg's successor, but was passed over in favour of harold evans. he retired in 1981 after 48 years with "the times". "i loved my paper as a soldier loves his regiment," he declared.