MEMORABLE MOMENTS OVER 32 YEARS...
technique, Humphrys first sat in front of the Today microphone on January 2, 1987.
During an extraordinary tenure, Humphrys interviewed every prime minister on the programme – from Margaret Thatcher to Theresa May, but had not grilled Boris Johnson since he came to power. Before joining Today, he had worked as a BBC foreign correspondent in both the US and Africa, as a diplomatic correspondent and as a presenter of the Nine O’Clock News.
The famously gruff broadcaster will continue to present Mastermind on BBC Two.
Today editor Sarah Sands said: “Losing John in the mornings is a Cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken accused him of “poisoning the well of democratic debate” in 1995 after saying he had interrupted then chancellor Kenneth Clarke 32 times. Next time, Humphrys gave Clarke a calculator to count the number of interruptions.
Labour’s director of bit like Big Ben being silenced. I will miss his restlessness, his capacity for delight, his profound curiosity and his humanity.”
Ms Sands joked that Mr Cameron, who was grilled about his decision to call the 2016 EU referendum, said he was coming on yesterday’s programme “to make sure he got the old bugger communications Dave Hill spoke publicly of “the John Humphrys problem” after the presenter’s confrontation with social security secretary Harriet Harman in 1997.
In 2003 BBC correspondent Andrew Gilligan told Humphrys he had learned that the threat from Saddam Hussein had been “sexed up”. This led to the suicide of the source, Dr
David Kelly, and resignations of Gilligan, the
BBC director general and the BBC chairman.
out of the building”. Mr Blair was also on the final show, taking part in a discussion about political interviewing.
Today will continue with four main presenters – Justin Webb, Mishal Husain, Martha Kearney and Nick Robinson.