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George Pascoe-Watson

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 7 min
George Pascoe-Watson
Born (1966-08-21) 21 August 1966 (age 58)
Edinburgh, Scotland
NationalityBritish
EducationGeorge Heriot's School
Royal High School, Edinburgh
Alma materNapier College
OccupationEntrepreneur

C-suite adviser

Communication consultant

Former journalist
Spouse
Natalie Kirby
​
(m. 2011)​

George Pascoe-Watson (born 21 August 1966) is a British journalist and public relations consultant. He was formerly the political editor of The Sun newspaper, succeeding Trevor Kavanagh in January 2006.

He left The Sun in 2009 to pursue a career in consultancy, spending 14 years working for the Portland Communications agency founded by Tony Blair's former advisor Tim Allan in 2001.[1] He is currently a founding partner at Schillings Communications.[2]

Early life

[edit]

Pascoe-Watson was born in Edinburgh in 1966 to an RAF pilot and a nursing sister.[3]

He was educated at George Heriot's School and the Royal High School. He completed a two-year journalism diploma at Napier College in Edinburgh.

Career

[edit]

Pascoe-Watson started his career working for local newspapers. Between 1986 and 1987, he was a reporter for the Warminster Journal in Wiltshire, and then for the free-sheet the Bristol Journal, before moving to news agency Bristol Press and Pictures.[3]

When the news agency went bankrupt, he moved to London and joined The Sun as a junior reporter in 1988, at the age of 21.[1] He was transferred off The Sun for a spell after he exposed a continued lack of security at Heathrow Airport shortly after the Lockerbie bombing.[4][5]

In his early days at the paper, he was bylined 'Pascoe Watson' as his superiors thought the forename George and his double-barrelled surname to be too effete for the red-top's primarily working-class readership. However, they relented after he went into the Lobby.[3]

Pascoe-Watson joined The Sun's political team in 1994. A decade later, in January 2006, he took over from Trevor Kavanagh as political editor, a post that he held until his move into consultancy.[1]

In 2009, Pascoe-Watson joined Portland Communications, the public affairs consultancy founded by Tony Blair's former advisor Tim Allan.[1] He spent 14 years at Portland, and was chair of the firm by the time he left in 2023.[6]

In 2020, during the COVID pandemic Pascoe-Watson was appointed to an unpaid advisory role by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); he participated in daily strategic discussions chaired by Lord Bethell.[7] He also sent information about government policy to his paying clients before this was made public.[8][9]

Pascoe-Watson co-founded Schillings Communications in January 2024, with Victoria O'Byrne.[6][10] The firm is a reputation management agency affiliated with Schillings, the British libel law firm. O’Byrne was previously responsible for communications for the Prince and Princess of Wales, Richard Branson at Virgin Group, and the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and started her career as a communications advisor for the Labour Party. Pascoe-Watson and O'Byrne are both equity partners in the venture.

Pascoe-Watson has been a regular panellist on multiple broadcast shows in the UK, including BBC Question Time, Sky News, BBC News, The Week in Westminster and BBC Radio 5 Live, among others.[11]

Personal life

[edit]

Pascoe-Watson married Natalie Kirby in January 2011.[12] The two met in the Lobby, when he was political editor at The Sun and she was working for William Hague.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Tryhorn, Chris (15 October 2009). "Sun political editor George Pascoe-Watson to join Tim Allan's PR agency". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  2. ^ "George Pascoe-Watson - Schillings". Schillings. 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b c George Pascoe-Watson: I was groomed by Trevor Kavanagh | Media | The Guardian
  4. ^ "Government demands Pan Am explain reported security lapse - United Press International". United Press International. 10 April 1989. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  5. ^ "The World - News from April 11, 1989 - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. 11 April 1989. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  6. ^ a b "British Libel Law Firm Schillings Sets Up PR Agency". PRovoke Media. 6 September 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  7. ^ Pogrund, Gabriel (15 November 2020). "George Pascoe-Watson among lobbyists given secret access to Covid meetings". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  8. ^ Stone, Jon (15 November 2020). "Government gave lobbyists access to confidential coronavirus briefings". The Independent. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  9. ^ Diver, Tony (15 November 2020). "National lockdown was revealed by lobbyists before press leaks". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Portland chair to lead law firm Schillings' PR agency | PR Week". PR Week. 6 September 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  11. ^ "George Pascoe-Watson - Mace Magazine". Mace Magazine. 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  12. ^ "What's in a name for tweet Jemima Goldsmith? | Markets & Analysis". Archived from the original on 4 February 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
Media offices
Preceded by Political Editor of The Sun
2006–2009 		Succeeded by


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