Allegra Stratton
Allegra Elizabeth Jane Stratton[1] (born 25 November 1980) is a British journalist and writer. From January 2016 to April 2020, she was the national editor of ITV News after four years as political editor on BBC Two's Newsnight.[2] She also co-presented Peston on Sunday with Robert Peston from 2016 to 2018.
Allegra Stratton | |
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Stratton in 2015 | |
Born | 25 November 1980 |
Education | Emmanuel College, Cambridge |
Occupation | Journalist, writer, government strategist |
Notable credit(s) | ITV News |
Spouse(s) | James Forsyth |
In April 2020, she quit ITV News to become Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Director of Strategic Communications at the Treasury.[3]
Early life
Stratton attended Chiswick Community School and Latymer Upper School, an independent school in west London. She then attended Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where she read archaeology and anthropology.
Career
Stratton worked as a producer for the BBC, on the foreign desk at The Times and wrote for The Independent and the New Statesman.
She then joined The Guardian as a political correspondent, presenting the newspaper's "Politics Weekly" podcast with journalist Tom Clark.[4]
During this period she wrote the novel Muhajababes, which explores the youth culture of the Middle East, which addressed the contradictions of modern life of young adults in Muslim societies.[5][6]
Stratton returned to the BBC on 20 February 2012,[7] as political editor of Newsnight, replacing Michael Crick who left to become a political correspondent for Channel 4.[8]
In November 2015, it was announced that Stratton was leaving the BBC to join ITV News as its national editor.[9] Stratton made her first appearance on ITV's News at Ten in January 2016. She co-presented Peston on Sunday, ITV with Robert Peston until May 2018.
In April 2020, she quit ITV News to become Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Director of Strategic Communications at the Treasury.[10]
Personal life
Allegra Stratton is married to James Forsyth, political editor of The Spectator magazine.[11] The couple live in Canonbury, north London.[12]
Publications
- Muhajababes New York, Melville House Publishing, 2008. ISBN 1-933633-50-6
References
- Sweney, Mark (30 November 2015). "ITV News appoints Allegra Stratton as national editor". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- D'Urso, Joey [@josephmdurso] (25 April 2020). "New: ITV News National Editor Allegra Stratton is leaving to work for Chancellor Rishi Sunak as Director of Strategic Communications at the Treasury, ITV News staff have been told in an email" (Tweet). Retrieved 26 April 2020 – via Twitter.
- "Politics Weekly". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 July 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
- Miller, Laura (10 July 2008). "Here come the muhajababes!: How sex, booze and heavy metal fit into the world of hip young Arabs today". Salon. p. 1-3. Archived from the original on 10 July 2008. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- Easton, Susan (19 June 2007). "Hijabs and Muhajababes". Human Events. Archived from the original on 19 June 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- Murphy, Verity (20 February 2012). "Newsnight: From the web team: Monday 20 February 2012". BBC. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
- Plunkett, John (30 November 2015). "Channel 4 News appoints Michael Crick as political correspondent". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- "Newsnight political editor Stratton follows Peston to ITV". BBC News. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- Griggs, Ian (27 April 2020). "Chancellor picks top political journalist as comms chief". PR Week. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- Hoggart, Simon (13 August 2011). "Simon Hoggart's week: sailing through dire economic straits". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- "Allegra Stratton's My London". London Evening Standard. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
External links
- "Guardian blogs | All guardian.co.uk blogposts". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
- "Allegra Stratton". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
Media offices | ||
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Preceded by Michael Crick |
Political Editor: Newsnight 2012–2016 |
Succeeded by Nicholas Watt |