Archie Bland has been promoted to second deputy editor of the Independent following Chris Blackhurst's appointment as group editorial director across across the Independent and Evening Standard titles. The 28-year-old is set to become the youngest deputy editor in the Independent's history and the youngest in national newspapers today, according to the paper. Reacting to the news, Bland said in a release he was "thrilled and humbled" by the appointment. "I know that I still have much to learn from the superb team of experienced and talented journalists at the Independent and I'm looking forward to building on the paper's successes together." Bland's promotion is the latest in a string of editorial reshuffles at the two papers owned by the Lebedev consortium after Sarah Sands took over as editor of the Evening Standard following Geordie Greig's departure to head up the Mail on Sunday. Bland will continue to edit the paper's Saturday edition and work under senior deputy editor Dan Gledhill during the week. Evgeny Lebedev, chairman of Independent Print Ltd, said in a statement: "These new appointments combine to leverage considerable journalistic talent and experience, with youth, flair and vitality. I expect this to significantly strengthen our journalistic output across both print and digital."