LAURA, THE NEW FACE OF POLITICS AT THE BBC
NEWSNIGHT presenter Laura Kuenssberg yesterday made history as she became the BBC’s first woman political editor.
The 38-year-old will take over from Nick Robinson. The longstanding political editor is taking the summer off to recover from treatment for lung cancer, before joining the line-up on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Corporation bosses had already made it clear that they wanted a woman to take over from Mr Robinson. And they also need to justify Miss Kuenssberg’s generous salary, reported to be £200,000 a year. But Miss Kuenssberg has also shown her political mettle.
She joined the BBC as a trainee journalist in Newcastle in 2000, before starting to cover politics in 2003 as a political correspondent at the BBC for programmes including Daily Politics and the Today programme, BBC Breakfast and the News at Ten.
Between 2009 and 2011 she was the BBC’s chief political correspondent. At one point, she was so ubiquitous t he br o a dcaster was dubbed ‘Kuenssbergovision’.
She briefly left in 2011 to be ITV News’ business editor, but returned in 2014 and quickly became a prominent feature of the BBC’s political coverage.
Miss Kuenssberg comes from an accomplished family.
The Edinburgh University graduate was born in Italy to Sally and Nick Kuenssberg, a Scottish businessman who made his fortune in textiles. Her maternal grandfather was a High Court judge, Lord Robertson, who played a significant role in shaping Scottish law. Her eldest brother David is a senior civil servant, whilst her sister Joanna is a diplomat.
The family moved to Glasgow whilst Miss Kuenssberg was young, but she has kept up her appetite for international travel. She has lived and worked in France and in the United States, covering two White House races.
She now lives in East London with her husband, James. Yesterday, Miss Kuenssberg said she was honoured to take the political editor position, adding: ‘I’m completely delighted and I recognise the responsibility on my shoulders.’
Miss Kuenssberg is understood to have fought off competition from a number of her colleagues, including Newsnight’s political editor, Allegra Stratton, BBC News’ special correspondent Lucy Manning. Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman was also tipped for the role.
The corporation fumbled as it confirmed her appointment. Head of newsgathering Jonathan Munro made the announcement on Twitter, triggering a flurry of congratulatory messages to Miss Kuenssberg.
However, he quickly deleted the message and remained silent until its confirmation a few hours later.
According to sources, BBC News chief James Harding was on the phone to one of the unsuccessful candidates at the time of Mr Munro’s tweet.
When it finally made its official announcement, BBC director general Tony Hall described Miss Kuenssberg as an ‘exceptional journalist’.
‘Her knowledge of Westminster politics is second to none, but she also has a real flair for asking the questions the audience want answering,’ he said. ‘I’m sure Laura will bring something extra to the role – something of her own style.’
James Harding, the BBC’s director of news, added: ‘Her intelligence and curiosity, judgment and passion stood out in a field of extremely strong candidates.’
Before studying history at Edinburgh University, where she graduated with a First, Miss Kuenssberg spent a gap year studying and working in Paris.
She also studied for a year at Georgetown University in Washington DC where she worked on an NBC political programme.
‘Something of her own style’