John Sergeant

John James Sergeant (born 14 April 1944) is an English television and radio journalist and broadcaster. He was the BBC's Chief Political Correspondent from 1992 to 2000 and the Political Editor of ITN from 2000 until 2002. Early life The son of a missionary and linguist, Sergeant is of Russian origin on his mother's side. Sergeant's early life meant that he followed his father's work, and was brought up in locations including Jerusalem and Oxford. Sergeant was educated at Great Tew Primary School, briefly at the independent Bloxham School near Banbury, in Oxfordshire, and then at the independent Millfield School in Street, Somerset. Sergeant graduated from Magdalen College, Oxford, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Whilst at university Sergeant performed in student comedy revues. After graduation he starred with Alan Bennett in a series of sketch shows on the BBC entitled On the Margin and wrote comedy scripts. He then trained as a journalist at Darlington College while reporting for the Liverpool Echo. Whilst in Washington during his "gap year" he was present in the crowd to witness Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963.