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Revision as of 03:53, 31 January 2006 by D6 (talk | contribs) (adding category:Living people)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Honourable Peter Jay (born 7 February 1937) is a British economist, broadcaster and diplomat.
Peter Jay was the son of Douglas Jay, Baron Jay of Battersea and Peggy Jay, both Labour Party politicians. He was educated at the University of Oxford and served in the Royal Navy, then worked as a civil servant at HM Treasury before becoming a journalist and, for 10 years, economics editor with The Times.
Jay has had a chequered career. He is the former husband of Margaret Jay, whom he married in 1961 and divorced in 1986. His friend Dr. David Owen, foreign secretary in the government of Jay's father-in-law, James Callaghan, appointed him UK Ambassador to the United States, an appointment that caused some controversy and accusations of nepotism. While in the USA, Margaret Jay had an affair with journalist Carl Bernstein. During his time in the States, Peter Jay fathered an illegitimate child by the nanny of their children. He subsequently returned to journalism in Britain but was initially most visible as leader of a consortium of high-profile media figures, including David Frost and Anna Ford, who won the license for an idea that did not work according to its business plan: he was founding chairman of TV-AM, the breakfast TV station launched by the consortium, where his "mission to explain" and the initial focus on news and current affairs did not yield economic success for the company (the first to broadcast outside traditional broadcasting hours in Britain). The station was rescued after a coup that involved Jonathan Aitken and by the more down-market Roland Rat character introduced by Greg Dyke, whose success there helped him build his credibility to become Director-General of the BBC.
Peter Jay returned to high-brow journalism and became Economics Editor of the BBC. His appearances on screen with explanations of major economic and business issues showed his intellectual grasp but could sometimes baffle his peak-time news audience. After his retirement, this task was handled by his successors (separately for economics and business) in a rather simpler and arguably more lucid way, with more visual illustration. He has written "Wealth of Man", a book exploring the history of man's search for wealth.