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| Laura Kuenssberg: BBC titan who would 'die in a ditch for impartiality' | Laura Kuenssberg: BBC titan who would 'die in a ditch for impartiality' |
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| This will not, says Nick Robinson, have been a particularly enjoyable week for the BBC’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg. “The one person who will hate the fact this profile is being written, and hate the fact there have been stories about her this week: Laura,” he says. “She doesn’t want to be the story, she doesn’t want sympathy. She just wants to get on with her job.” | This will not, says Nick Robinson, have been a particularly enjoyable week for the BBC’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg. “The one person who will hate the fact this profile is being written, and hate the fact there have been stories about her this week: Laura,” he says. “She doesn’t want to be the story, she doesn’t want sympathy. She just wants to get on with her job.” |
| The BBC assigned Kuenssberg a bodyguard while she was covering the Labour party conference this week, a response to the amount of abuse and threats she has been receiving on social media. But the abuse ramped up, with people saying she was seeking attention. | The BBC assigned Kuenssberg a bodyguard while she was covering the Labour party conference this week, a response to the amount of abuse and threats she has been receiving on social media. But the abuse ramped up, with people saying she was seeking attention. |
| The alternative leftwing website the Canary ran a story headlined “We need to talk about Laura Kuenssberg”, about her being an invited speaker at a Conservative party conference fringe event. However, many people are “invited” in the hope they turn up; the BBC quickly confirmed she would not be speaking. But the story had already gone viral. | The alternative leftwing website the Canary ran a story headlined “We need to talk about Laura Kuenssberg”, about her being an invited speaker at a Conservative party conference fringe event. However, many people are “invited” in the hope they turn up; the BBC quickly confirmed she would not be speaking. But the story had already gone viral. |
| Kuenssberg, in the role of political editor for a little over two years, has arguably been demonised like no other journalist in her field. “The most divisive woman on TV today?” asked the Telegraph in a front-page story during the summer, while there was an online petition calling for her to be sacked last year, which was eventually taken down. | |
| There is a distinct stench of misogyny to the abuse, though Kuenssberg will have become wearily used to this. While still at Newsnight, after Jeremy Paxman resigned from the programme, one Telegraph writer asked: “Is it just me, by the way, or has Laura been showing a lot more cleavage than usual since Paxo’s job came up for grabs?” | There is a distinct stench of misogyny to the abuse, though Kuenssberg will have become wearily used to this. While still at Newsnight, after Jeremy Paxman resigned from the programme, one Telegraph writer asked: “Is it just me, by the way, or has Laura been showing a lot more cleavage than usual since Paxo’s job came up for grabs?” |
| Kuenssberg is intensely private – little is publicly known about her private life, other than that she is married to a management consultant and lives in east London. When asked in a rare interview about the petition against her, she simply said: “Politics is a tough business.” | Kuenssberg is intensely private – little is publicly known about her private life, other than that she is married to a management consultant and lives in east London. When asked in a rare interview about the petition against her, she simply said: “Politics is a tough business.” |
| Robinson has also faced a fair amount of abuse, and briefly had a bodyguard during the Scottish referendum campaign. “I’ve had just a little glimpse of what it must be like to go through what Laura’s going through, and the more divisive nature of politics means she’s getting more of it. I have no doubt that as a young woman, she gets more of it too,” he says. | |
| Kuenssberg’s friend and former colleague Will Walden is cautious when asked how he thinks she feels about the abuse. “I can’t imagine it’s easy,” he says. “You don’t want it, and it’s not acceptable, but I think it’s a reflection of the fact that Laura has hit a nerve with her reporting, quite rightly, because she has every right to hold everyone to account.” | Kuenssberg’s friend and former colleague Will Walden is cautious when asked how he thinks she feels about the abuse. “I can’t imagine it’s easy,” he says. “You don’t want it, and it’s not acceptable, but I think it’s a reflection of the fact that Laura has hit a nerve with her reporting, quite rightly, because she has every right to hold everyone to account.” |
| Kuenssberg’s impartiality is constantly questioned, though she is accused of being both left-biased and pro-Tory. Supporters of Jeremy Corbyn consider her to have treated him unfairly. In January, the BBC Trust ruled that she had inaccurately reported his views on “shoot to kill” in the aftermath of a terrorist attack, though it said it found no evidence of bias. “I would die in a ditch for the impartiality of the BBC,” she said in an interview last year. | Kuenssberg’s impartiality is constantly questioned, though she is accused of being both left-biased and pro-Tory. Supporters of Jeremy Corbyn consider her to have treated him unfairly. In January, the BBC Trust ruled that she had inaccurately reported his views on “shoot to kill” in the aftermath of a terrorist attack, though it said it found no evidence of bias. “I would die in a ditch for the impartiality of the BBC,” she said in an interview last year. |
| The Labour MP Tom Watson says “she doesn’t editorialise”, adding: “I’ve never seen her grind her axe.” Of how she is regarded among MPs, he says: “I would say she is respected and a little bit feared from a professional point of view – you know you can’t go glibly into an interview with her.” | The Labour MP Tom Watson says “she doesn’t editorialise”, adding: “I’ve never seen her grind her axe.” Of how she is regarded among MPs, he says: “I would say she is respected and a little bit feared from a professional point of view – you know you can’t go glibly into an interview with her.” |
| When Walden became Boris Johnson’s director of communications in 2012, he regularly came up against his former colleague. “One of her great strengths is ‘no fear, no favour’,” he says. His friendship with Kuenssberg never meant his boss, then London’s mayor, got an easy time. “She will go for it if she feels she’s on to something, and she will exploit that weakness.” | When Walden became Boris Johnson’s director of communications in 2012, he regularly came up against his former colleague. “One of her great strengths is ‘no fear, no favour’,” he says. His friendship with Kuenssberg never meant his boss, then London’s mayor, got an easy time. “She will go for it if she feels she’s on to something, and she will exploit that weakness.” |
| Kuenssberg has had a dizzying rise. She was 38 when she was made BBC political editor, the first woman to hold the job, in 2015. “Being the BBC’s political editor always puts you in the firing line,” says her predecessor Robinson. “Anybody doing that job would have found themselves being the subject of criticism from people on any side of any one of those arguments who feel that their point of view is not heard in the way they want it to be heard. The real test is whether she gets it right. No one gets it right all the time but she gets pretty damn close, which is why she is so respected.” | |
| She is, he says, “the ultimate pro. She’s got a wider set of contacts than almost any journalist I know, she works her contacts harder than most journalists I know and if she says something, it’s not because it’s a hunch, it’s because she knows it’s true because she’s talked to people. The people who criticise her sometimes find that hard to accept.” | She is, he says, “the ultimate pro. She’s got a wider set of contacts than almost any journalist I know, she works her contacts harder than most journalists I know and if she says something, it’s not because it’s a hunch, it’s because she knows it’s true because she’s talked to people. The people who criticise her sometimes find that hard to accept.” |
| Kuenssberg, the youngest of three, was born in Italy where her father, an executive in the textiles business, was working. Her mother, Sally, spent decades working in children’s services. | Kuenssberg, the youngest of three, was born in Italy where her father, an executive in the textiles business, was working. Her mother, Sally, spent decades working in children’s services. |
| Kuenssberg went to an independent girls’ school in Glasgow. She studied history at Edinburgh University and left with an MA, before attending Georgetown University in Washington DC for a year and interning at NBC. | Kuenssberg went to an independent girls’ school in Glasgow. She studied history at Edinburgh University and left with an MA, before attending Georgetown University in Washington DC for a year and interning at NBC. |
| She then worked on local cable TV and radio before becoming a BBC trainee in 2000. Kuenssberg won a Royal Television Society award for most promising newcomer in 2001 while working as home affairs correspondent for BBC North East and Cumbria. “She had huge capacity to do 10 things at once,” says Walden, who was then the BBC’s north of England bureau chief. “She understood what made a great story, she was energetic, she was keen, intelligent, thoughtful – but not one of those pain-in-the-arse type people you think are too much.” | She then worked on local cable TV and radio before becoming a BBC trainee in 2000. Kuenssberg won a Royal Television Society award for most promising newcomer in 2001 while working as home affairs correspondent for BBC North East and Cumbria. “She had huge capacity to do 10 things at once,” says Walden, who was then the BBC’s north of England bureau chief. “She understood what made a great story, she was energetic, she was keen, intelligent, thoughtful – but not one of those pain-in-the-arse type people you think are too much.” |
| In 2003, she became a reporter on Daily Politics, later becoming chief political correspondent. One colleague remembers her “focus, drive and energy”, adding: “She wanted to do the job as well as she could possibly do it. I think that is very innate and core to who she is. I couldn’t say this about everyone [in Westminster journalism] but she’s straightforward; she’s not somebody who plays games.” | |
| In 2011, she went to ITV to become business editor. “As the challenger brand, ITV news needs aggressive journalists who want to make their mark, are hungry, quick-witted and nimble and Laura was all those things,” says Deborah Turness, who was then head of ITV news. “She was so focused on the story and so focused on winning. She was an early truly authentic journalist who permitted herself not to behave like a TV reporter should behave, and just said it as she saw it, unfiltered almost straight from her brilliant brain to the audience. When we caught her, it felt like she was next generation, there was also something fresh about her. She had also already built up this huge following on Twitter before anybody else – she was ahead of the game.” | In 2011, she went to ITV to become business editor. “As the challenger brand, ITV news needs aggressive journalists who want to make their mark, are hungry, quick-witted and nimble and Laura was all those things,” says Deborah Turness, who was then head of ITV news. “She was so focused on the story and so focused on winning. She was an early truly authentic journalist who permitted herself not to behave like a TV reporter should behave, and just said it as she saw it, unfiltered almost straight from her brilliant brain to the audience. When we caught her, it felt like she was next generation, there was also something fresh about her. She had also already built up this huge following on Twitter before anybody else – she was ahead of the game.” |
| The move accelerated her career – Newsnight brought her back to the BBC in 2014, and she was appointed political editor the following year. | The move accelerated her career – Newsnight brought her back to the BBC in 2014, and she was appointed political editor the following year. |
| It is, by any standards, a tough job. Kuenssberg will often appear early in the morning on Radio 4’s Today programme and finish the day on the News at Ten. The job, says Robinson, is relentless: “You are on call, it feels at times in that job, pretty much non-stop and at every stage you’re expected to get it right.” | |
| Describing her as incredibly hardworking, her manager, Katy Searle, says: “Someone said to me when I first started to work with her that when she started in her career, where some of the [lobby] journalists would make a few phone calls to MPs, she would make 25, 30.” | Describing her as incredibly hardworking, her manager, Katy Searle, says: “Someone said to me when I first started to work with her that when she started in her career, where some of the [lobby] journalists would make a few phone calls to MPs, she would make 25, 30.” |
| What doesn’t come across in her serious role is the lighthearted side of her personality, she says, adding: “We have the biggest laugh, she’s really funny.” | What doesn’t come across in her serious role is the lighthearted side of her personality, she says, adding: “We have the biggest laugh, she’s really funny.” |
| She says Kuenssberg is also very competitive: “She likes to be ahead of the game. The title of political editor of the BBC is a heavy one to wear – it’s the best job in the business and she loves it – but it carries an enormous responsibility to beat the rest of the pack. | She says Kuenssberg is also very competitive: “She likes to be ahead of the game. The title of political editor of the BBC is a heavy one to wear – it’s the best job in the business and she loves it – but it carries an enormous responsibility to beat the rest of the pack. |
| “We always have to be right, and Laura in particular has to be right. If she tweets a line, the whole world follows. That would be her motivation – to be first and right.” | “We always have to be right, and Laura in particular has to be right. If she tweets a line, the whole world follows. That would be her motivation – to be first and right.” |
| Potted profile | Potted profile |
| Born 1976 | Born 1976 |
| Career Joined the BBC as a trainee in 2000. Became a reporter on Daily Politics in 2003, then later became chief political correspondent for BBC News. Moved to ITV as business editor in 2011. Returned to BBC as a presenter on Newsnight in 2014. | Career Joined the BBC as a trainee in 2000. Became a reporter on Daily Politics in 2003, then later became chief political correspondent for BBC News. Moved to ITV as business editor in 2011. Returned to BBC as a presenter on Newsnight in 2014. |
| High point Becoming the BBC’s first female political editor in 2015. | High point Becoming the BBC’s first female political editor in 2015. |
| Low point The BBC Trust concluded Kuenssberg’s report on Jeremy Corbyn’s shoot-to-kill policy stance was inaccurate. BBC News rejected the ruling. | Low point The BBC Trust concluded Kuenssberg’s report on Jeremy Corbyn’s shoot-to-kill policy stance was inaccurate. BBC News rejected the ruling. |
| What she says “[Mine] is the job of translating what’s happening in Westminster to people up and down the country, which I think is the most important job we have as journalists.” | What she says “[Mine] is the job of translating what’s happening in Westminster to people up and down the country, which I think is the most important job we have as journalists.” |
| What they say “An outstanding journalist and political editor with the utmost integrity and professionalism” – James Harding, director of BBC News. | What they say “An outstanding journalist and political editor with the utmost integrity and professionalism” – James Harding, director of BBC News. |