Simpson, John (1944– )

English journalist. He became World Affairs Editor for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1988 and presents the current affairs programme Simpson's World. He is known for his scooping and authoritative coverage of major world events such as the massacre in Tiananmen Square in 1989, the Gulf War in 1991, and the Iraq War in 2003, as well as his interviews of major world leaders.

In his long career with the BBC, he served as political editor 1980–81, presented the BBC Nine O'Clock News 1981–82, was diplomatic editor in 1982. He has interviewed such figures as Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, South African president Nelson Mandela, British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. After reporting from Belgrade during the Kosovo conflict, he was named the Royal Television Society journalist of the year in 2000.

Simpson was born in Cleveleys, Lancashire, and was educated at St Paul's School and Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he read English and edited the literary magazine Granta. He began working for the BBC as a trainee sub-editor in radio news in 1966. He became a reporter in 1970 and travelled around the world, one of his first assignments being the civil war in Angola. He was created a CBE in 1991 and became chancellor of Roehampton University in 2005.