Robinson switches sides to fill Marr's 'ample shoes'

Nick Robinson, a former chairman of the Young Conservatives whose pithy questioning recently riled John Prescott into calling him a "fucking pillock", is to succeed Andrew Marr as political editor of the BBC.

The appointment of the 41-year-old represents a coup for the corporation in luring Robinson away from ITV News, where he is political editor.

The independent network is understood to have made a concerted effort to hold on to Robinson, who has become one of the channel's leading reporters with his trademark black-rimmed glasses and penchant for sharp inquisition.

The appointment represents a return to his previous stamping ground for Robinson, who was chief political correspondent for BBC News 24 before he joined ITV News in 2002.

He is thought to have beaten a number of internal BBC candidates to the job, including Martha Kearney of BBC2's Newsnight, and Radio 5 Live's John Pienaar. Marr, a former editor of The Independent, announced shortly after last month's general election that he was stepping down after five years in the job to replace Sir David Frost as the presenter of BBC1's flagship political interview programme. He starts the role in September.

Robinson, who is known to have had ambitions for the most powerful and most demanding job in political television journalism, said: "I've relished trying to give Andy Marr a run for his money over the past couple of years. I'm excited and daunted in equal measure at the prospect of now trying to fill his rather ample shoes. The job of BBC political editor is to bring drama, insight and analysis to a subject too many say they dislike, but most know they simply cannot ignore."

The former BBC trainee producer has filled a series of posts at the corporation, including deputy editor of Panorama and On the Record. He has also presented Late Night Live.

Born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, Robinson studied politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford before becoming national chairman of the Young Conservatives at the height of Thatcherism in 1986.

His brief affiliation with the Tories has not damaged his rise as a reporter. He is regarded as unbiased by colleagues, to such an extent that when Alastair Campbell once tried to raise his political past, the Labour rottweiler was jeered down by other reporters and forced to apologise.

Senior BBC executives anxious to emulate the success of Marr's robustly independent and at times off-beat style, may have been swayed by Robinson's recent scrapes with the Labour Party spin machine.

The ITV reporter briefly became part of the story during the general election campaign when he twice embarrassed Tony Blair, the first time by challenging him on a poster claiming the Conservatives were planning £35bn of cuts to public services.

Robinson, who claims the former BBC journalist Brian Redhead as his inspiration, asked the Prime Minister: "Can you only win this election by distorting your opponents' policies?"

The journalist further enraged Downing Street when he tackled Mr Blair on the all-white audience in a key-note speech on immigration. When he later raised the question of the trustworthiness of the Labour manifesto at a press conference, John Prescott was seen to mouth the words "fucking pillock".

The appointment of Robinson continues male dominance of the top job in the BBC's political team after Marr was preceded by Robin Oakley and John Cole. Martha Kearney, who had been ranked as the leading internal candidate for the post, was last night being tipped to succeed Elinor Goodman, who is stepping down as political editor of Channel 4 News.

The BBC said Robinson would start in his new role later this summer, but not until after the G8 summit at Gleneagles next month.

The CV

BORN

1963, Macclesfield, Cheshire

EDUCATION

Cheadle Hulme private school, Cheshire. Politics, Philosophy and Economics, University College, Oxford

CAREER

1986: National chairman, Young Conservatives

1987: BBC production trainee

1991: Deputy editor of On the Record

1993: Reporter, later deputy editor, Panorama

1999: Chief political correspondent, BBC News 24

2002: Political editor, ITV News