Unfit To Govern

Born: 25 April, 1960
Where: London
Father: Maurice Peston, economist and Labour Peer
Mother: NHS Employee
School: local comprehensive school
Further Ed: Balliol College, Oxford.  Graduated 1982.

Peston is the son of economist and later Labour peer Maurice Peston and his wife who was employed by the NHS. Robert attended the local comprehensive school, Highgate Wood Secondary School, in Crouch End, North London. He graduated from Balliol College, Oxford in 1982, and then studied at the Université Libre de Bruxelles after winning a scholarship.

After working briefly as a stockbroker Robert became a journalist in 1983 and joined the new Independent newspaper in 1986.  From 1991-2000 he had various positions including Political Editor and Banking Editor.  In 2002 he joined the Sunday Telegraph as City Editor becoming associate editor in 2005. Robert Preston has been the BBC’s business editor since 13 February 2006.

Peston published his biography of Gordon Brown Brown’s Britain in January 2005, which details the rivalry between Gordon Brown and the then Prime Minister Tony Blair. In February 2008, Hodder & Stoughton published Peston’s latest book, “Who Runs Britain? How the Super-Rich are Changing our Lives.” In The Guardian.

Peston’s scoop on Northern Rock seeking emergency financial help from the Bank of England won the Royal Television Society’s Television Journalism Award for Scoop of the Year in the 2007/8 awards and the Wincott Award for Business News/Current Affairs Programme of the Year. He was Journalist of the Year in the Business Journalism of the Year Awards for 2007/08, and also won in the Scoop category.

He is married to the writer Sian Busby, writer of a book about the warrior queen Boudicca. The couple have two sons. He is a lifelong Arsenal supporter.

Source links: About Robert Peston (BBC), Wikipedia,