Jump to content

Robert Peston

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other people with similar names, seeRobert Preston.

The Honourable
Robert Peston
Peston in February 2014
Born(1960-04-25)25 April 1960(age 64)
EducationBalliol College, Oxford
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • presenter
  • author
Spouse
​
​
(m.1998; died 2012)​
Children1
RelativesMaurice Peston(father)
Robert Peston's voice
Recorded November 2007from the BBC Radio 4 programmeFile on 4

Robert James Kenneth Peston(born 25 April 1960) is an English journalist, presenter, and author. He is the political editor ofITV Newsand host of the weekly political discussion showPeston(previouslyPeston on Sunday). From 2006 until 2014, he was the business editor ofBBC Newsand its economics editor from 2014 to 2015. He became known to the wider public with his reporting on thelate 2000s financial crisis,especially with his exclusive information on theNorthern Rock crisis.[1]He is the founder of the education charity Speakers for Schools.

Early life

[edit]

Robert James Kenneth Peston born into aJewishfamily on 25 April 1960, the son of Helen Conroy andMaurice Peston, Baron Peston(1931–2016), an economist andLabourlife peer.As the son of a life baron, he is entitled to the courtesy title "The Honourable", but does not use it. He attendedHighgate Wood Secondary SchoolinLondon.[2]He graduated with a second-class degree inphilosophy, politics and economicsfromBalliol College, Oxford,[3][4][5]and then studied at theUniversité libre de Bruxelles.[6]

Career

[edit]
Peston with a film crew at the 2016 Labour Party Conference

Peston briefly worked as a stockbroker at Williams de Broë,[7]becoming a journalist in 1983 at theInvestors Chronicleand joiningThe Independentnewspaper on its launch in 1986. From 1989 to 1990, Peston worked for the short-livedSunday Correspondentnewspaper as Deputy City Editor, before being appointed City Editor of theIndependent on Sundayin 1990.[3][8]

From 1991 to 2000, he worked for theFinancial Times.At theFT,he was – at various times – Political Editor, Banking Editor and head of an investigations unit[8](which he founded). During his time as Political Editor, he memorably fell out with the then Downing Street Press SecretaryAlastair Campbell,who regularly mimicked Peston's habit of flicking back his hair, and once responded to a difficult question with the words: "Another question from the Peston school of smartarse journalism."[9]

He became close friends with fellow journalist, now PR man,Roland Rudd,where the two were known as the "Pest and the Rat".[10]His last position at theFTwas Financial Editor (in charge of business and financial coverage).[8]

In 2000, he became editorial director of the online financial analysis service Quest,[8]owned by the financial firm Collins Stewart. At the same time, he became a contributing editor ofThe Spectatorand a weekly columnist forThe Daily Telegraph.In 2001, he switched allegiance from theTelegraphto theSunday Times,where he wrote a weekly business profile, Peston's People, and leftThe Spectatorfor theNew Statesman,where he wrote a weekly column.[11]In 2002, he joinedThe Sunday Telegraphas City editor and assistant editor. He became associate editor in 2005.[8]

In late 2005, it was announced that Peston would succeedJeff Randallas BBC Business Editor, responsible for business and City coverage on the corporation's flagship TV and radio news programmes, theBBC News Channel,itswebsiteand onRadio 4'sToday.[citation needed]

While no impropriety on the part of Peston was implied, it was claimed inThe Observer[12]on 19 October 2008, that theSerious Fraud Office(SFO) could enquire into the source of one of Peston's scoops which, in September 2008, in the fraught atmosphere of theglobal financial crisis,revealed that merger talks betweenHBOSandLloyds TSBwere at an advanced stage. In the minutes before the broadcast, buyers purchased millions of HBOS shares at the deflated price of 96p; in the hour following it, they could be sold for 215p. TheConservativeMPGreg Handshad written to the SFO about this.

On 4 February 2009, Peston appeared as a witness at theHouse of CommonsTreasury Select Committee,along withAlex Brummer(City Editor,Daily Mail),Lionel Barber(editor of theFinancial Times),Sir Simon Jenkins(The Guardian) andSky NewsBusiness EditorJeff Randallto answer questions on the role of the media in financial stability and "whether financial journalists should operate under any form of reporting restrictions during banking crises."[13]

On 28 August 2009, Peston had a highly publicised row withJames Murdoch,following the latter's MacTaggart lecture.[14][15]In 2010-2011, he repeatedly broke stories relating toNews International'sinvolvement with phone hackingat times which were perceived as advantageous to the company, this, combined with his relationship with senior News International figures, led to articles and comments regarding his close relationship to the organisation.[16]

Peston is the founder ofSpeakers for Schools,a pro-bono education venture which organises speakers from the worlds of business, politics, media, the arts, science, engineering and sports to give talks for free in state schools.[3][17]

On 17 October 2013, Peston was appointed Economics Editor ofBBC News,replacingStephanie Flanderswho was appointed as Chief Market Strategist atJP Morgan Asset Management.[18]He continued as Business Editor, as well until his replacementKamal Ahmedtook over the post on 24 March 2014.[18]

On 4 October 2015, it was announced that Peston would leave the BBC to joinITV Newsas their Political Editor, replacingTom Bradbywho became the main presenter ofNews at Ten.Peston made his last appearance onBBC Newson 25 November 2015, and his first appearance on ITV'sNews at Tenon 11 January 2016.[19][20]He had a significant scoop in April 2016, when Prime MinisterDavid Cameronstated in an interview he had profited from his father's offshoreBlairmore Holdingstrust, after information about the trust had been disclosed in thePanama Papersrelease.[3]

He presentsITV's new weekly political discussion show,Peston on Sunday,which started on 8 May 2016.[3]In 2018, the programme moved to a Wednesday night timeslot, rebranded asPeston.[21]

In December 2019, Peston apologised for incorrectly tweeting, without verification, that a Labour activist had punched a Conservative Party adviser. Footage was soon released showing that this was not true; he later apologised for his remarks and retracted them.[22][23]In 2020, he said thatBoris Johnson's government had becomesocialistic,and was "moreCastrothan Castro ".[24][25][26]

Awards

[edit]
Peston reporting for the BBC, 2009

Peston has won theHarold WincottSenior Financial Journalist of the Year Award (2005), theLondon Press Club's Scoop of the Year Award (2005),Granada Television'sWhat the Papers Sayaward for Investigative Journalist of the Year (1994) and the Wincott Young Financial Journalist of the Year (1986).

At theRoyal Television Society's Television Journalism Awards 2008/09 Peston won both "Specialist Journalist of the Year" and "Television Journalist of the Year" for his coverage of the credit crunch and a string of 'scoops' associated with it.[27]Also, his scoop on Lloyds TSB's takeover of HBOS won the Royal Television Society's "Scoop of the Year" award. He was voted Best Performer in a Non-Acting Role in the Broadcasting Press Guild's 2009 awards[28]and Business Journalist of the Year in the London Press Club's 2009 awards. In the 2008 Wincott Awards, he won the Broadcaster of the Year Award and he won the online award for his blog.

In 2009, he was named Political Journalist of the Year in the Political Studies Association Awards, and he topped polls of the general public and journalists carried out byPress Gazetteto find the highest rated finance and business journalist.

Peston's scoop onNorthern Rockseeking emergency financial help from the Bank of England won theRoyal Television Society's Television Journalism Award for Scoop of the Year in the 2007/8 awards and the Wincott Award for Business News/Current Affairs Programme of the Year. He was Journalist of the Year in the Business Journalism of the Year Awards for 2007/08, and also won in the Scoop category.

Peston won theWork Foundation's Broadcast News Journalism Award and the Foundation's Radio Programme of the Year Award (for hisFile on 4,"The Inside Story of Northern Rock" ).[29]His blog won the digital media category in the Private Equity and Venture Capital Journalist of the Year Awards.[30]

Peston received an Honorary Doctorate fromHeriot-Watt Universityin 2010.[31]In 2011, he was honoured as a Fellow ofAberystwyth Universityin recognition of "his success in journalism, his insightful writing and his contribution to the local community".[32]

Delivery style

[edit]

Peston's delivery on radio and television news has attracted comment.Tim TeemaninThe Timesdescribed his "intonation" as "raggedy [and] querulous" in 2008,[33]andAnn Trenemandescribed Peston as "excruciatingly hard to listen to" in 2009.[34]Elizabeth Grice inThe Daily Telegraphidentified "strangulated diction" and "repetition of small words" among his traits; in the same article, maintaining he is "loads better than [he] was", Peston himself conceded he is "still not as polished as some".[35]

Books

[edit]

Peston published his biography ofGordon Brown,Brown's Britain,in January 2005. It details the rivalry between Brown and the then Prime MinisterTony Blair.Brown's Britainwas described bySir Howard Davies,former director of theLondon School of Economics,as "a book of unusual political significance". The cover of the book describes how "Peston was given unprecedented access to Gordon Brown and his friends and colleagues." Having told Brown's side of the Blair/Brown power struggle, it is believed that Peston used the relationship then built up with Brown for many of his later financial news story "scoops" at the BBC.[citation needed]

In February 2008,Hodder & Stoughtonpublished Peston's bookWho Runs Britain? How the Super-Rich are Changing our Lives.InThe Guardian,Polly Toynbeesaid of it: "Reading Peston's book, you can only be flabbergasted all over again at how Labour kowtowed to wealth, glorified the City and put all the nation's economic eggs into one dangerous basket of fizzy finance."[36]

In September 2012, Hodder & Stoughton publishedHow Do We Fix This Mess? The Economic Price of Having it All and the Route to Lasting Prosperity.The Observerdescribed it as "A must read...mandatory reading for anyone who wants to have a voice in where we go from here."

His bookWTF?was published by Hodder & Stoughton in November 2017 and charts the events that led up to the2016 Brexit referendum.Whistleblower,his first novel, appeared in September 2021. The protagonist is alobby journalist(political reporter) for the fictionalFinancial Chronicleand the colourful background to the story, set at the time of the1997 general electionin Britain, reflects Peston's detailed knowledge of his subject.[37][38]

Personal life

[edit]
Peston in June 2007

Peston married British-Canadian writerSiân Busbyin 1998, and the two had a son named Maximilian.[39]They had known each other since their teenage years and only rekindled their relationship after her friend, Peston's sister Juliet, was hospitalised after a car crash.[40]

In the intervening years, Busby had been married and divorced; Peston became the step-father of her son from that marriage. Busby died in September 2012, at the age of 51, of lung cancer.[41][42]In September 2018, Peston said he felt guilty after falling in love with another woman several years after his wife's death, and revealed that he was now in a relationship with author and journalist Charlotte Edwardes.[43]

Peston lives in theMuswell Hillarea ofLondon.After his home was burgled in December 2012, he made an appeal for the return of rings that had belonged to his late wife.[44]

Peston is a lifelong supporter ofArsenal FC.[45]He was born into a non-religious Jewish family,[3]and has described himself asculturally Jewishrather than religiously so.[6]His fatherwas a patron of theBritish Humanist Associationand an Honorary Associate of theNational Secular Society.[46]

In September 2021, Peston stated that he had recently recovered from aCOVID-19infection.[47][48]

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2012 The Great Euro Crash Presenter[49]
2013 Robert Peston Goes Shopping Presenter[50]
2014 How China Fooled the World Presenter[51]
2015 Have I Got News for You Guest host 1 episode
2015 Quelle Catastrophe! France Presenter[52]
2016 The Great Chinese Crash? Presenter[53]
2016 The Agenda with Tom Bradby Guest presenter
2016–2018 Peston on Sunday Presenter
2017 Red Nose Day Actually Himself
2018–present Peston Presenter

Style and titles

[edit]
  • Robert James Kenneth Peston (1960–87)
  • The HonourableRobert James Kenneth Peston (since 1987) (He doesn't use this, even though he is entitled to.)

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^"Robert Peston".ITV News.
  2. ^Grice, Elizabeth (24 January 2008)."Robert Peston: 'I'm not going to become smooth and phoney'".The Daily Telegraph.London.Retrieved8 October2008.
  3. ^abcdefCalkin, Jessamy (8 May 2016)."Robert Peston on finding love after the death of his wife, being a single father and the BBC versus ITV".The Daily Telegraph.Retrieved10 May2016.
  4. ^Beckett, Andy (23 February 2017)."PPE: the Oxford degree that runs Britain".The Guardian.Retrieved19 November2020.
  5. ^Plante, Robert Peston, Lynda La (7 May 2013)."You may have a first-class degree - but Lord Winston doesn't want you".The Daily Telegraph.ISSN0307-1235.Retrieved29 April2020.{{cite news}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ab"Robert Peston: The BBC reporter who means business".The Jewish Chronicle.21 February 2008.Retrieved8 March2020.
  7. ^White, Dominic (10 December 2005)."Peston in line as BBC voice of business".The Daily Telegraph.London.Retrieved28 February2009.
  8. ^abcdeSilver, James (19 December 2005)."This man means business at the BBC".The Guardian.London.Retrieved28 February2009.
  9. ^"Robert Peston, thorn in Darling's side".The First Post.8 October 2008.Retrieved28 February2009.
  10. ^Kellaway, Lucy (12 August 2011)."The networker".Financial Times.Archived fromthe originalon 11 December 2022.Retrieved18 May2015.
  11. ^"Robert Peston".BBC. 14 July 2006.Retrieved28 February2009.
  12. ^Helm, Toby."SFO probe".The Guardian.London.Retrieved16 September2014.
  13. ^Treasury CommitteeTreasury Committee: Press List
  14. ^Benzine, Adam (29 August 2009)."Murdoch, Peston in Edinburgh bust-up".C21 Media.
  15. ^Holmwood, Leigh; Robinson, James (30 August 2009)."BBC's Robert Peston in furious face-to-face row with James Murdoch".The Observer.London.
  16. ^Burrell, Ian (13 July 2011)."BBC in a spin over Robert Peston's inside track to News International".The Independent.London.That event and Mr Peston's role at it are indicative of the business editor's status, although he had previously clashed with James Murdoch at a dinner in Edinburgh in 2009, shortly after the News Corp scion had made a public attack on the BBC.
    Mr Peston's relations with Mr Lewis, with whom he formerly worked at the Financial Times, go much deeper.
    None of this would be a problem for the BBC if it were not for the suggestion that Mr Peston's scoops this month were helpful to Mr Murdoch's media organisation or factions within it.
  17. ^"Speakers for Schools".speakers4schools.org.Retrieved16 September2014.
  18. ^ab"Robert Peston to become BBC economics editor".BBC News.17 October 2013.Retrieved24 October2013.
  19. ^"Robert Peston joins ITV News' expert line-up as Political Editor".ITV. 7 October 2015.Retrieved6 July2016.
  20. ^"Hello and welcome to my new home as ITV political editor".9 January 2016.Retrieved6 July2016.
  21. ^Waterson, Jim (6 June 2018)."Robert Peston moves to midweek ITV slot after poor viewing figures".The Guardian.Retrieved26 October2018.
  22. ^Mayhew, Freddy (10 December 2019)."BBC and ITV political editors apologise for false hospital 'punch' claim in tweets".Press Gazette.
  23. ^"The Tories have punched truth in the face | Joel Golby".The Guardian.10 December 2019.
  24. ^Asemota, Jed (13 November 2020)."Why free school meals is a political choice".Varsity Online.Retrieved27 November2020.
  25. ^Tyrone, Nick (23 October 2020)."Defending Robert Peston's" The government is socialist "tweet".nicktyrone.Retrieved27 November2020.
  26. ^Bilsborough, Joe (26 November 2020)."Austerity – Just by Another Name".Tribune.Retrieved27 November2020.
  27. ^"BBC's Robert Peston scoops awards".BBC. 27 January 2009.Retrieved6 July2016.
  28. ^"2009 Awards".Broadcasting Press Guild. 30 January 2009.Retrieved16 September2014.
  29. ^"Winners of the Workworld media awards announced".The Work Foundation. 28 January 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 17 July 2011.Retrieved21 April2009.
  30. ^"BVCA Private Equity and Venture Capital Journalist of the Year Award Winners".BVCA.Retrieved21 April2009.[permanent dead link]
  31. ^"Design, science, engineering and sport among Heriot-Watt honorary degrees".Heriot-Watt University. 8 July 2010.Retrieved6 July2016.
  32. ^"Robert Peston honoured as Fellow".Aberystwyth University.12 July 2011.Retrieved19 January2022.
  33. ^Teeman, Tim (2 April 2008)."Bianca barrels back on to EastEnders".The Times.Retrieved13 June2017.Agggh. What is it with Robert Peston's raggedy, querulous intonation?
  34. ^Treneman, Ann(5 February 2009)."Appalling delivery, rambling replies but the Robert Peston show is a masterclass".The Times.Retrieved13 June2017.But this was the Peston show because Pesto, as he is called, has had a very, very good credit crunch. His stories have made him a star almost, it must be said, despite himself. For this is a man who can be excruciatingly hard to listen to. Many is the morning when I shout at the radio: 'Spit it out, man!'
  35. ^"Robert Peston Interview".The Daily Telegraph.London. 24 January 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 25 March 2008.Retrieved16 September2014.
  36. ^Toynbee, Polly (19 February 2008)."Labour's election hopes rely on things they don't control".The Guardian.Retrieved28 February2009.
  37. ^Peston, Robert (September 2021).The Whistleblower.Bonnier Zaffre.ISBN9781838775247.
  38. ^Dex, Robert (7 September 2021)."The Whistleblower by Robert Peston review".Evening Standard.Retrieved19 January2022.
  39. ^Obituary: Siân Busby,telegraph.co.uk, 6 September 2012
  40. ^Grice, Elizabeth."Robert Peston: 'I'm not going to become smooth and phoney'",The Daily Telegraph,24 January 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  41. ^"Obituary: Siân Busby".The Daily Telegraph.London. 6 September 2012.Retrieved16 September2014.
  42. ^"Robert Peston – Leave of absence".BBC News.5 September 2012.Retrieved5 January2014.
  43. ^"Peston: I felt guilt after falling in love again".BBC News.23 September 2018.Retrieved23 September2018.
  44. ^Marsden, Sam (20 December 2012)."BBC business editor Robert Peston appeals for return of late wife's stolen rings".The Daily Telegraph.London.Retrieved12 August2013.
  45. ^"Peston's Picks: About Robert Peston".BBC.29 January 2007.Retrieved19 January2022.
  46. ^"BHA mourns its patron, Lord Peston".British Humanist Association.25 April 2016.Retrieved16 January2017.
  47. ^"As someone who has just got through Covid-19, I wondered how rare I am to have contracted it as a double vaxxed person. According to new data from the government's Vaccine Surveillance Report, in the age group 40 to 79, the overwhelming majority of those infected have..."Twitter.Retrieved4 February2022.
  48. ^"Peston: Data shows infections high among double vaxxed for those aged 40 to 79".11 September 2021.
  49. ^"The Great Euro Crash with Robert Peston – BBC Two".BBC.Retrieved20 August2016.
  50. ^"Robert Peston Goes Shopping – BBC Two".BBC.Retrieved27 January2017.
  51. ^"How China fooled the world with Robert Peston – BBC News".BBC News.Retrieved20 August2016.
  52. ^"Quelle Catastrophe! France with Robert Peston, This World – BBC Two".BBC.Retrieved20 August2016.
  53. ^"The Great Chinese Crash? With Robert Peston, This World – BBC Two".BBC.Retrieved20 August2016.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toRobert Peston.
Media offices
Preceded by Business Editor ofBBC News
2006–2014 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Economics Editor ofBBC News
2013–2016
Preceded by Political Editor ofITV News
2016–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Peston&oldid=1236756955"