Alistair Bunkall

Last updated

Alistair Bunkall
Born
Alistair Edward Julian Bunkall [1]

February 22nd 1982 (1982-02-22) (age 42) [1]
Bristol [1]
NationalityBritish
Education Sherborne School, Dorset
Alma mater University of Bristol
City University, London
Occupation(s)Journalist and TV News Correspondent
Employer Sky News
Notable workOff the Record with Alistair Bunkall (podcast)
TitleMiddle East Correspondent of Sky News (2012–present)

Alistair Edward Julian Bunkall (born 1982, Bristol), [1] is a British journalist, currently working as Middle East correspondent for Sky News, the 24-hour television news service operated by Sky UK. He has occupied this position since July 2021. Alistair was previously defence and security correspondent for seven years and reported from many conflicts around the world including Afghanistan, Yemen [2] and the Islamic State insurgency in Iraq. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Bunkall was born in Bristol in February 1982, and grew up in the village of Buckland Newton in north Dorset in South West England.[ citation needed ]

Bunkall was educated at Sherborne School, a boarding independent school for boys, in the market town of Sherborne in Dorset in South West England, [4] followed by the University of Bristol in the city of Bristol, also in South West England. [3] He took a postgraduate degree at the City University in Central London, in 2004. [5]

Early career

Bunkall is an experienced foreign correspondent, having reported from more than 30 countries during his career with Sky News, including the conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, Gaza and West Bank.

He is also one of few Western journalists to have reported from North Korea

After leaving Sherborne School, Bunkall gained work experience at the Dorset Echo , a local daily newspaper. While still at the University of Bristol, he worked for BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Somerset Sound. After completing his postgraduate degree at City University in London in 2004, he joined BBC News, and reported for the BBC One O'Clock News. He went on to work in two ITV regions, initially as a sports correspondent: ITV Central and ITV Thames Valley, and for the CKNW radio station in the city of Vancouver in British Columbia, on the West Coast of Canada.

Sky News

Bunkall joined Sky News as a general news reporter in 2007. He has held various positions at the channel including as business correspondent, political correspondent, and defence and security correspondent. He is currently the channel's Middle East correspondent.

He has reported from Sudan in the run-up to the crucial elections leading up to independence, and on the Norwegian twin terror attacks in early 2011.

Bunkall also reported from Denmark after the attempted assassination of a Danish cartoonist.

In 2014 he was deployed to the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan to report on the multi-national humanitarian relief effort.

He became Sky News defence correspondent in December 2012 and Middle East correspondent in 2021. He has reported on the conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Ukraine and South Sudan. He has also reported from North Korea [6] and is known for his access into some of the UK's most secretive establishments including the nuclear deterrent, covert drone base [7] and intelligence agencies. Bunkall has interviewed key world figures including prime ministers, NATO secretaries general, leading diplomats and military officers.

Bunkall has reported on elections in Pakistan, Israel, Turkey, the UK, South Sudan and the 2020 US Presidential election.

Since July 2019, Bunkall has run an independent podcast series, titled "Off The Record with Alistair Bunkall", where he interviews "some of the world's great leaders". [8] Recent high-profile interviews include Sir Alex Younger, former head of MI6. [9]

Personal life

Bunkall is married to Kate. They live in the Middle East with their two children.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Country</span> Southwestern area of England

The West Country is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. The West Country has a distinctive regional English dialect and accent, and is also home to the Cornish language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherborne School</span> Public school in Sherborne, Dorset, England

Sherborne School is a 13–18 boys public school and boarding school located beside Sherborne Abbey, in the parish of Sherborne, Dorset. The school has been in continuous operation on the same site for over 1,300 years. It was founded in 705 AD by St Aldhelm and, following the dissolution of the monasteries, re-founded in 1550 by King Edward VI, making it one of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom. Sherborne is one of the twelve founding member public schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference in 1869 and is a member of the Eton Group and Boarding Schools Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Dearlove</span> Former head of MI6; Chair of the Board of Trustees at the University of London

Sir Richard Billing Dearlove is a retired British intelligence officer who was head of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), a role known informally as "C", from 1999 until 6 May 2004. He was head of MI6 during the invasion of Iraq. He was criticised by the Iraq Inquiry for providing unverified intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to the Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rageh Omaar</span> Somali-born journalist and writer

Rageh Omaar is a Somali-born British journalist and writer. He was a BBC world affairs correspondent, where he made his name reporting from Iraq. In September 2006, he moved to a new post at Al Jazeera English, where he presented the nightly weekday documentary series Witness until January 2010. The Rageh Omaar Report, first aired in February 2010, is a one-hour, monthly investigative documentary in which he reports on international current affairs stories. From January 2013, he became a special correspondent and presenter for ITV News, reporting on a broad range of news stories, as well as producing special in-depth reports from around the UK and further afield. A year after his appointment, Omaar was promoted to international affairs editor for ITV News. Since October 2015, alongside his duties as international affairs editor, he has been a deputy newscaster of ITV News at Ten. Since September 2017, Omaar has occasionally presented the ITV Lunchtime News including the ITV News London Lunchtime Bulletin and the ITV Evening News.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special Reconnaissance Regiment</span> Special forces regiment of the British Army

The Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) is special reconnaissance unit of the British Army. It was established on 6 April 2005 and is part of the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885 onwards

West Dorset is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Edward Morello, a Liberal Democrat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885 onwards

North Dorset is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Simon Hoare of the Conservative Party.

Adam James Harold Holloway is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gravesham from 2005 to 2024. A Government Whip from September to October 2022, and previously an Assistant Government Whip from July to September 2022, he served on the Home Affairs Select Committee and European Scrutiny Committee. He was a vocal supporter of pro-Brexit lobby group Leave Means Leave.

Mark William Austin is an English journalist and television presenter, currently working for Sky News.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon McCoy</span> British journalist

Simon McCoy is a British journalist and former newsreader on BBC News, Sky News and GB News.

Geraint V. Vincent is a British journalist, currently employed by ITN as a Correspondent for ITV News.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Urban</span> British journalist (born 1961)

Mark Lee Urban is a British journalist, historian, and broadcaster. He is a writer and commentator for The Sunday Times, specialising in defence and foreign affairs. Until May 2024 he was Diplomatic Editor and occasional presenter for BBC Two's Newsnight.

Sam Kiley is a Senior International Correspondent at CNN. Prior to CNN, he was the Foreign Affairs Editor of Sky News. He is a journalist with more than 20 years' experience, based at different times of his career in London, Los Angeles, Nairobi, Johannesburg and Jerusalem. He has written for The Times, The Observer, The Sunday Times and Mail on Sunday newspapers, The Spectator and New Statesman weekly political news magazines, and reported for BBC Two, Sky One, Channel 4, and lately, Sky News.

Paul Wood is a British journalist. He is the World Affairs correspondent for the BBC. He was previously the defence and Middle East correspondent.

David Chater is a British broadcast journalist. Chater has more than 35 years' experience in international television news, having worked for Independent Television News, Sky News and Al Jazeera English. He joined ITN in 1976, Sky News in 1993 and Al Jazeera English in 2006. In 2008 he also took time out to serve as Head of News at Georgian television channel Kanal Pik, run under licence by K1.

Hugh Sykes is a journalist employed by BBC News, specifically reporting for news programmes on BBC Radio 4. Sykes can regularly be heard reporting for PM, The World at One, Broadcasting House and The World This Weekend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Ferguson</span> British/Irish journalist

Jane Ferguson is an Irish journalist.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales confirms name and birthdate and lists birthplace as Bristol. Publisher: General Register Office. Retrieved: 27 April 2021.
  2. ↑ "Civilian casualties mount in Yemen". Sky News. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  3. 1 2 Sky News - Biographies - Alistair Bunkall Archived 2011-10-30 at the Wayback Machine Sky News Press Office online Created: October 2011. Retrieved: 17 November 2011.
  4. ↑ Dorset police in riot call up The Dorset Echo newspaper online. Created: 10 August 2011. Retrieved: 17 November 2011.
  5. ↑ Q and A with Alistair Bunkall Archived 2011-10-15 at the Wayback Machine TV Newsroom.co.uk Created: May 2009. Retrieved: 17 November 2011.
  6. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : North Korea Pyongyang Sky News December 2015. YouTube .
  7. ↑ Bunkall, Alistair (5 May 2016). "Inside Top-Secret Drone Operation Against IS". Sky News. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  8. ↑ "About". Off the Record Podcast. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  9. ↑ "There's a secret London bar exclusively for spies, according to the head of MI6". inews.co.uk. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.