Residence London Name Kamal (journalist) | Role Journalist Employer BBC News | |
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Born 1967 Nationality British (of Sudanese descent) Occupation Journalist, editor, administrator Known for Business Editor, BBC News
Former Business Editor, The Sunday Telegraph
Fmr. Director of Communications at the Equality and Human Rights Commission
Fmr. Political Editor, The Observer
Journalist & features writer Education Drayton Manor High School, University of Leeds, Department of Journalism, City University Similar Elizabeth Day, Robert Peston, Stephanie Flanders Profiles | ||
Kamal Ahmed (born 1967) is a British journalist, currently Economics Editor of BBC News. He was the Business Editor of BBC News from March 2014, until Simon Jack was appointed as his successor, in February, 2016.
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He was formerly the Political Editor of The Observer newspaper, Business Editor of The Sunday Telegraph newspaper and Director of Communications at the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Early life and education
Ahmed is son of an ethnic English mother from Rotherham and a Sudanese father who was a research scientist in ophthalmology. He grew up in Ealing. From 1980 to 1986, Ahmed was educated at Drayton Manor High School, a state comprehensive school in Hanwell in the London Borough of Ealing in West London, followed by the University of Leeds, from which he graduated in 1990 with a degree in Political Studies. He then trained in journalism at the City University Department of Journalism.
Career
Ahmed worked on local newspapers in Scotland before joining Scotland on Sunday in 1993. He later moved to The Guardian and became executive news editor and Political Editor at the The Observer newspaper. Ahmed was later criticised by fellow journalist Nick Davies for maintaining an inappropriately close relationship with Downing Street while serving as Political Editor, and for publishing numerous articles that "contained significant falsehood or distortion". Ahmed described Davies' claims as untrue and "hearsay". After leaving the newspaper, he then became group Director of Communications at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, recruited by its then chairman Trevor Phillips.
In 2009, Ahmed was appointed Business Editor for The Sunday Telegraph, undertaking a course at the London Business School before replacing Mark Kleinman, who left for Sky News. In 2013 he became executive business editor, with a role across the Sunday and Daily Telegraph print editions.
On 20 December 2013, it was announced that Ahmed would replace Robert Peston as the Business Editor of BBC News, and on 24 March 2014 he assumed the post.
On 3 December 2015, it was announced that Ahmed would replace Robert Peston as the BBC Economics Editor after Peston's departure to ITV, and that Ahmed's successor as Business Editor of BBC News would be announced early in 2016. Ahmed will be doing both jobs until a successor is appointed.
Personal life
Ahmed married the journalist and novelist Elizabeth Day in December 2011. The couple separated in February 2015 and are now divorced.