Nick Watt appointed new Political Editor of BBC Newsnight

Nick Watt has been appointed Political Editor of BBC Newsnight, replacing Allegra Stratton.

Nick, who is currently Chief Political Correspondent at the Guardian, has spent nearly 25 years covering UK and European politics from Westminster, Brussels and Northern Ireland. He began his political reporting career as Ireland Correspondent of the Times based in Belfast during the early stages of the Northern Ireland peace process.

Nick Watt said: “I am thrilled to be joining the outstanding team at Newsnight at such a defining moment in UK politics. I have been a fan since Newsnight’s early days and am honoured to be working for a programme which has provided a home for some of my journalistic heroes over the last three decades.”

In 1997 Nick moved back to London as Political Correspondent for the Times and joined the Guardian’s political team the following year. He has also worked in Brussels as the Guardian’s European Editor before serving as the acting Political Editor of the Observer between 2007-2008.

Ian Katz, Editor of Newsnight said: “Nick is one of the most trusted, authoritative and engaging journalists in the country. With a background in Northern Ireland, Europe and Westminster he’s also uniquely equipped to guide viewers through an increasingly fractured and complex political landscape, and to lead the programme’s coverage of one of the most important and potentially tumultuous political periods in modern memory.”