Peter Jay

British writer, broadcaster, and businessman. He studied at Oxford, then worked at the Treasury (1961–7), as a financial journalist (1967–77), and as a presenter for ITV (1972–7). He was ambassador to the USA (1977–9), then returned to television, becoming presenter of TV-AM (1983) and A Week in Politics (1983–6, Channel 4). He has been a senior executive for several organizations, and a member of government, industrial, and charitable advisory committees. He was economics and business editor at the BBC (1990–2001).

Peter Jay is the son of Douglas Jay, Baron Jay and Peggy Jay (born 1912), both of whom were Labour Party politicians.

In the early 1970s, Jay was the principal presenter of Weekend World. In 1972, Jay co-authored, with his friend John Birt, a series of articles for The Times where they criticised standard television journalism and developed what came to be called their "mission to explain".

Jay 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.

Jay 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 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).

His career took a surprising turn when he became Chief of Staff to Robert Maxwell during his most high-profile and controversial years. Margaret Jay led Maxwell's Aids Foundation around the same time, where she met her present husband professor Mike Adler.

Peter Jay returned to high-brow journalism and became Economics Editor of the BBC, specially appointed by John Birt.