Thomas Adam Babington Boulton (born 15 February 1959) is a British journalist and broadcaster who is a regular presenter on

Times Radio Times Radio is a British digital radio station owned by News UK, part of the Murdoch family, Murdoch media empire. It is jointly operated by News Broadcasting (which News UK acquired in 2016, when it was known as ''Wireless Group''), ''The Tim ...

. He was formerly

editor-at-large An editor-at-large is a journalist who contributes content to a magazine. They are typically credited in the publication's masthead, even if they technically are not on staff. The responsibilities of the editor-at-large may change project to proj ...

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news 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 ...

, and presenter of ''All Out Politics'' and ''Week in Review''. He is also the former political editor of Sky News. He is based at Sky News'

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

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: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

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 Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, a ...

Thomas Babington Boulton (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 . Founded in 1931, it is located in East Sheen, near Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. Notable former pupils * Adam Boulton * Tom ...

, a preparatory school in south-west London, at

St Andrew's School, Pangbourne St Andrew's School is an independent preparatory school in the hamlet of Buckhold, near Pangbourne, Berkshire, England. Together with its 'Pre-Prep – Early Years' department, the school educates girls and boys aged between three and thirteen. ...

, a preparatory school in Berkshire, and at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

, 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. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

for boys in

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

, 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 ...

in English, mathematics, physics and chemistry. He then studied at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, and

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

, where he gained degrees in English and

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

. 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 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. 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 Elizabeth Burley (; born 17 December 1960) is an English broadcaster. She was a presenter on Sky News and hosted the breakfast slot on the channel. She has also worked for BBC Local Radio, Tyne Tees Television, and TV-am. On 5 February ...

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 politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he remains the lo ...

after

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

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. Best known for his celebrity gossip columns in newspapers, his work appeared in the ''Daily Express'' and ''Daily Mail'' ...

. 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 and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

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 presidency took on symbolic significance during Franklin D. ...

for Sky News. On 22 April 2010, during the

UK general election United Kingdom general elections (elections for the House of Commons) have occurred in the United Kingdom since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliame ...

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

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

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

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

and

Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...

produced, in turn, and on consecutive Thursdays, by ITV News, Sky News and the BBC. 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 is the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. Colloquially known as Number 10, the building is located in Downing Street, off Whitehall in th ...

Director of Communications

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

, 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 and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

. Boulton shouted at Campbell: "Don't tell me what I think". At the time both Labour and the Conservatives were trying to broker a deal with the Liberal Democrats aimed at forming a

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

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

Ben Bradshaw Sir 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 served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Exeter f ...

. The media regulator

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

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 politician, lobbyist and diplomat who has served as British Ambassador to the United States since February 2025. A member of the Labour Party, Mandelson serve ...

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 also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' 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 independence referendum, 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 ...

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

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

. His successor in the role was

Faisal Islam Faisal Islam (born 29 May 1977) is a British political and economics journalist who is the economics editor of BBC News and an occasional presenter of ''Newsnight''. He was the political editor of Sky News from 2014 to 2019, and from May 2004 wa ...

and then

Beth Rigby Elizabeth Frances Rigby (born 19 February 1976) is a British journalist. She has worked for Sky News since 2016, and was appointed Political Editor in 2019. Rigby has previously worked as a newspaper journalist for the ''Financial Times'' and ...

, who succeeded Islam in 2019 when he left for the

. Since 2017, Boulton has presented '' All Out Politics'' 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 (political custom), constitutional convention in the United Kingd ...

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 Bicameralism, 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 ...

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 Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday 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 N ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'', the ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

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

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' is the BBC's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. It is broadcast weeknights at 10:30 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel; it is also avail ...

'', ''

Bremner, Bird and Fortune ''Bremner, Bird and Fortune'', originally titled ''Rory Bremner...Who Else?'', is a satirical British television programme produced by Vera Productions for Channel 4, uniting comedy impressionist Rory Bremner with the veteran satirical comedy duo ...

'' and ''

Have I Got News for You ''Have I Got News for You'' (''HIGNFY'') is a British television panel show, produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC, which premiered on 28 September 1990. The programme focuses on two teams, one usually captained by Ian Hislop and one ...

''. 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), known as Lord Dunglass from 1918 to 1951 and the Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...

. 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 media executive, and the former head of Sky News. Early life He grew up in East Sussex. He went to Eastbourne College. He attended Durham University ( Hild & Bede) from 1981 to 1984, s ...

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 became a regular panellist on the

TalkTV Talk TV may refer to: * MTV (Canadian TV channel), a lifestyle and entertainment channel in Canada previously known as Talk TV * Talk TV (Philippine TV network), a defunct all-news channel in the Philippines (2011 to 2012) * Talk TV (Philippine TV ...

programme 'The News Desk with Tom Newton Dunn'. Boulton presents a Sunday morning show between 10 am and 1 pm for

alongside Kate McCann. Boulton continues to be a freelance political contributor to

GB News GB News is a British free-to-air, editorial, opinion-orientated television and radio news channel. The channel is available on Freeview (UK), Freeview, Freesat, Sky UK, Sky, YouView, Virgin Media and via the internet on Samsung TV Plus, LG web ...

and Talk TV.

Personal life

Boulton divorced his first wife ''

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

'' Kerena Anne Boulton after his affair with

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

spin doctor In public relations and politics, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through knowingly providing a biased interpretation of an event. While traditional public relations and advertising may manage their presentation of facts, "spin" often i ...

Anji Hunter Angela Margaret Jane Hunter, Baroness Hunter of Auchenreoch (born 29 July 1955), is a Scottish public relations advisor. She is noted for her close partnership with former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Early life Hunter was born in Kuala Lumpur, M ...

became front page tabloid news in 2002. Kerena is the sister of

Peter Mond, 4th Baron Melchett Peter Robert Henry Mond, 4th Baron Melchett (24 February 1948 – 29 August 2018), also known as Peter Melchett, was an English farmer, jurist and politician. He succeeded to the title of Baron Melchett in 1973. Early life The son of the Briti ...

, the former Labour minister and environmentalist; she is the eldest daughter of Julian Edward Alfred Mond, 3rd Baron Melchett, the first chairman of the

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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

(BSC), and his wife

Sonia Melchett Sonia Elizabeth Sinclair, JP (née Graham; formerly Mond; born 6 September 1928), known as Sonia Melchett, is an English socialite and author. Formerly married to Julian Mond, Baron Melchett, she married the writer Andrew Sinclair after her hu ...

, the 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, England. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. The churc ...

, on 22 July 2006. Both have children from their previous marriages. He says he has not 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 Mass media 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 Spouses of life peers