Thomas Adam Babington Boulton (born 15 February 1959) is a British journalist and broadcaster who is regular panelist on TalkTV. He was formerly

editor-at-large An editor-at-large is a journalist who contributes content to a publication. Sometimes such an editor is called a roving reporter or roving editor. Unlike an editor who works on a publication from day to day and is hands-on, an editor-at-large con ...

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...

, and presenter of ''

All Out Politics Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the he ...

'' and ''Week In Review''. He is also the former political editor of Sky News. He is based at Sky News'

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

studios in Central London. He was previously the political editor of

TV-am TV-am was a TV company that broadcast the ITV franchise for breakfast television in the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 until 31 December 1992. The station was the UK's first national operator of a commercial breakfast television franchise ...

, an

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

early-morning broadcasting franchise holder. He held the post of Sky's political editor since being asked to establish its politics team for the launch of the channel in 1989. He is the former presenter of Sky News' '' Sunday Live with Adam Boulton'', and presented a regular weekday news and political programme on Sky News, entitled '' Boulton and Co'' from 2011 to 2014.

Early life and education

Born in 1959, Boulton is the son of pioneering anaesthetist Dr Thomas Babington Boulton OBE (1925–2016) and Helen (née Brown). He comes from a family of bank managers and clerks, with a medical tradition on his mother's side. He was educated at

Tower House School Tower House School is an independent prep school for boys aged 4 to 13 . Established in 1932, it is in located in East Sheen, near Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. Notable former pupils * Adam Boulton * ...

, a preparatory school in south-west London, at

St Andrew's School, Pangbourne St Andrew's School is an independent school (UK), independent preparatory school (United Kingdom), preparatory school in the hamlet (place), hamlet of Buckhold, near Pangbourne, Berkshire, England. Together with its 'Pre-Prep – Early Years' dep ...

, a preparatory school in Berkshire, and at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

, a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

for boys in

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

, where he took

A-levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

in English, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. He then studied at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, and

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, where he gained degrees in English and

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

. In 2013 Boulton received an Honorary Doctorate of Business from

Plymouth University The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

Career

Boulton had early roles at IPS News and the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

. Before joining Sky News, he worked as a journalist in the parliamentary lobby. He was then political editor for

, where his colleague was

Kay Burley Kay Burley (born Kay McGurrin; 17 December 1960) is a British broadcaster and writer. She is a presenter on Sky News and hosts ''Kay Burley'', the breakfast slot on the channel. She also worked for BBC Local Radio, Tyne Tees Television, and TV- ...

who later joined Sky News. It was during the 1987 general election that he was punched by

Denis Healey Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he ...

after

Anne Diamond Anne Margaret Diamond (born 8 September 1954) is a British journalist and broadcaster. She presently hosts the weekend breakfast show on GB News with Stephen Dixon as her co-presenter. She hosted '' Good Morning Britain'' for TV-am and ''Good ...

asked Healey about his wife using private healthcare; the incident was witnessed by gossip columnist

Nigel Dempster Nigel Richard Patton Dempster (1 November 1941 in Calcutta, India – 12 July 2007 in Ham, Surrey) was a British journalist, author, broadcaster and diarist. Best known for his celebrity gossip columns in newspapers, his work appeared in the ''Dai ...

. Boulton was asked to establish the politics team for the launch of

in 1989. He thereby began a long tenure as political editor of the news channel. Boulton won the Royal Television Society's supreme Judge's Award and was elected the 2007 chairman of the parliamentary lobby. On 15 June 2008 he became the first British television reporter to conduct a joint interview of US President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

and his wife Laura. Boulton was based in Washington, D.C. from January 2009, covering the

first 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency The first 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency began on January 20, 2009, the day Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States. The first 100 days of a presidential term took on symbolic significance during Franklin D ...

for Sky News. On 22 April 2010, during the

UK general election This is a list of United Kingdom general elections (elections for the UK House of Commons) since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland, ...

campaign, Boulton hosted Sky News' leaders' debate live from

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, the second in a series of three televised debates between Gordon Brown,

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

and

Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British media executive and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who has been president for global affairs at Meta Platforms since 2022, having previously been vicepr ...

produced, in turn, and on consecutive Thursdays, by ITV News, Sky News and the BBC. Kay Burley's serious face

On 10 May 2010, while covering events on the aftermath of the general election, Boulton lost his composure with former

10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...

Director of Communications

Alastair Campbell Alastair John Campbell (born 25 May 1957) is a British journalist, author, strategist, broadcaster and activist known for his roles during Tony Blair's leadership of the Labour Party. Campbell worked as Blair's spokesman and campaign director ...

, defending his impartiality in a live on-air interview after Campbell accused Boulton of political bias in favour of the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

. Boulton shouted at Campbell: "Don't tell me what I think". At the time both

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

and the Conservatives were trying to broker a deal with the Liberal Democrats aimed at forming a

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

. A similar disagreement occurred later on that evening in an exchange with

Ben Bradshaw Benjamin Peter James Bradshaw (born 30 August 1960) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from 2009 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Exeter since 1 ...

. The media regulator

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

received several hundred complaints about the Campbell incident from viewers. During the campaign he had been asked to calm down by

Peter Mandelson Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson (born 21 October 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who served as First Secretary of State from 2009 to 2010. He was President of the Board of Trade in 1998 and from 2008 to 2010. He is the ...

when he questioned him about possible spending cuts that the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' believed would have to be made following the election. He was also accused of bias for the way he questioned Liberal Democrat leader

, it was claimed in contravention of the pre-established rules, during the leaders' debate hosted by

. Ofcom rejected the complaints. On 20 January 2011 Boulton once again interviewed Alastair Campbell on Sky News, ahead of Tony Blair's appearance in front of the

Iraq Inquiry The Iraq Inquiry (also referred to as the Chilcot Inquiry after its chairman, Sir John Chilcot)2014 Scottish independence referendum A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side w ...

to become its Editor-at-large. He had been political editor for 25 years and five

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. His successor in the role was

Faisal Islam Faisal Islam ( bn, ফয়সাল ইসলাম; born 29 May 1977) is a British political and economics journalist who is the economics editor of BBC News and the occasional presenter of ''Newsnight''. He was the political editor of Sky N ...

. Since 2017, Boulton has presented ''

'' on Sky News, from 9 am to 11 am, Monday to Friday. He also maintains a blog on the Sky News website and presents ''Week in Review''. Additionally, he presents a review of

Prime Minister's Questions Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs, officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister, while colloquially known as Prime Minister's Question Time) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, currently held as a single session every W ...

on a Wednesday evening, with regular guests to discuss the performance of ministers involved in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

earlier in the day and more seriously, the legislation and ideas that they present to the House. He has written for newspapers and magazines including ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'', ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

'', ''

Spectator ''Spectator'' or ''The Spectator'' may refer to: *Spectator sport, a sport that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its matches *Audience Publications Canada * ''The Hamilton Spectator'', a Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, ...

'', ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'' and ''

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

''. He has been a guest of programmes such as ''

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...

'', ''

Bremner, Bird and Fortune ''Bremner, Bird and Fortune'' is a satirical British television programme produced by Vera Productions for Channel Four, uniting the longstanding satirical team of John Bird and John Fortune ("the Two Johns") with the satirical impressionist Ror ...

'' and '' Have I Got News for You''. He has interviewed every British Prime Minister from

back to

Sir Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel (; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), styled as Lord Dunglass between 1918 and 1951 and being The 14th Earl of Home from 1951 till 1963, was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conse ...

. On 10 November 2021, Boulton announced he would be leaving Sky News at the end of the year. In an interview with ''The Times'', he explained: "It looks like the direction which Sky News wants to go over the next few years is not one that's a particularly good fit for me. Sky News head

John Ryley John Hamilton Ryley (born 21 December 1961) is a British television producer, and the head of Sky News. Early life He was born in Chelmsford in Essex. He is a single child. His father worked for the National Farmers Union (NFU). He is a chil ...

believes the future of news is digital, is on the platform for phones and is very strongly based around data journalism. At that point you do start thinking". In April 2022, Boulton has become a regular panellist on the

TalkTV (British TV channel) TalkTV is a British television channel owned and operated by News UK. It launched on 25 April 2022. The channel features video simulcasts of TalkRadio programming in off-peak hours, but launched with three original programmes, ''The News Desk'', ...

programme 'The News Desk with Tom Newton Dunn'. Boulton presents a Sunday Morning Show between 10am -1pm for

Times Radio Times Radio is a British digital radio station owned by News UK. It is jointly operated by Wireless Group (which News UK acquired in 2016), ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times''. As of September 2022, the station broadcasts to a weekly audienc ...

alongside

Kate McCann Kate McCann (born 1988/1989) is a British journalist. She has been the political editor of TalkTV since April 2022. McCann was previously a political correspondent for Sky News between 2018 and 2022 and ''The Daily Telegraph''s senior politic ...

Boulton continues to be a freelance Political Correspondent for

GB News GB News is a British free-to-air television and radio news channel. The channel is available on Freeview, Freesat, Sky, YouView, Virgin Media and via the internet. Since 4 January 2022, an audio simulcast of the station is available on DAB+ ra ...

and Talk TV (British TV Channel)

Personal life

Boulton divorced his first wife Kerena Anne Boulton after his affair with

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

spin doctor In public relations and politics, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through knowingly providing a biased interpretation of an event or campaigning to influence public opinion about some organization or public figure. While traditional publi ...

Anji Hunter Angela Margaret Jane "Anji" Hunter (born 1955) is an English public relations advisor. She is noted for her close partnership with former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Early life Hunter was born in Kuala Lumpur, Federation of Malaya, then under c ...

became front page tabloid news in 2002. Kerena is the sister of former Labour Minister and environmentalist Peter Mond, 4th Baron Melchett, and eldest daughter of former

British Steel Corporation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Chairman Julian Mond and Sonia Melchett, writer and socialite. Boulton married Hunter at

St James's Church, Piccadilly St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, United Kingdom. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. T ...

on 22 July 2006. Both have children from their previous marriages. He claims not to have voted for any party since becoming a journalist.

Bibliography

* ''Tony's Ten Years: Memories of the Blair Administration'' (2008) Simon & Schuster * ''Hung Together: The 2010 Election and the Coalition Government'' with Joey Jones (2010) Simon & Schuster

References

External links

*
Boulton and Co

Adam Boulton's biography
from

Images

Articles By Adam Boulton
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boulton, Adam 1959 births Living people People educated at Tower House School People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Johns Hopkins University alumni People from Reading, Berkshire British reporters and correspondents British television newsreaders and news presenters English political commentators English television journalists English television presenters Sky News newsreaders and journalists Fellows of King's College London Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni English social commentators