Andrew Neil

Andrew Neil is a publisher, editor, writer, broadcaster, public speaker and business consultant on media matters.

He is chief executive of Press Holdings Media (owners of The Spectator and The Business). He presents This Week (BBC1), Daily Politics (BBC2), and Straight Talk (BBC News 24). He is chairman of ITP (Dubai) and World Media Rights (London).

His first job (1971-72) was as political adviser to the Secretary of State for the Environment in Edward Heath’s Conservative Government in London. He then became a correspondent for The Economist in 1973, where his first major assignment was to cover the Ulster “Troubles” from Belfast. Andrew became American correspondent of The Economist in 1979, working out of New York and Washington. He covered the Iranian hostage crisis and the 1980 presidential election as White House correspondent for the magazine and also wrote on Wall Street and US business. He returned to London in 1982 to become UK Editor of The Economist.

In 1983 he became editor of the Sunday Times of London and remained in that post for 11 years (until end-1994).

While still editing The Sunday Times, Neil presided over the successful launch of Sky Television, the new satellite service that brought multi-channel TV to Britain. He was Executive Chairman of Sky from 1988 to 1990.

In late 1994, he resigned from both The Sunday Times and Fox Television to begin a new career as an independent broadcaster, writer and media consultant.