Peter Jay: the rise and fall of 'the cleverest young man in England'

Peter Jay, the erstwhile economics exertion of the BBC, has died aged 87.

At assorted times, Jay was besides economics exertion of the Times newspaper, presenter of ITV's Weekend World, British Ambassador to Washington, motorboat president of TV-am and main of unit to Robert Maxwell.

In a statement, his household said: "Peter Jay’s household are precise bittersweet to denote helium died peacefully astatine location contiguous 22 September aged 87.

"He was a overmuch loved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin, friend, and colleague."

Charming, superb and arrogant successful adjacent measure, helium was famously described astatine schoolhouse arsenic 'the cleverest young antheral successful England."

"Is determination idiosyncratic cleverer successful Wales?" came the retort.

Once tipped arsenic a aboriginal satellite person by Time magazine, Jay was aboriginal installed successful splendour arsenic Her Majesty's Ambassador to the US.

But what went up, came crashing down.

His clip successful Washington was overshadowed by the nationalist disintegration of his marriage. So spectacular was the scandal, it aboriginal inspired a Hollywood film.

Jay was calved connected 7 February 1937, and enjoyed a glittering commencement to life.

His father, Douglas, was a Labour furniture curate and destined for the Lords.

An aboriginal proponent of "modernisation" of the party, helium argued for ditching its moving people representation and abandoning nationalisation arsenic aboriginal arsenic the 1960s.

His mother, Peggy, was a starring airy of the London County Council and described by a section insubstantial arsenic the "uncrowned queen of Hampstead".

He was educated astatine the Dragon School successful Oxford before, similar his begetter and gramps earlier him, going connected to Winchester.

There, helium scooped a big of world prizes and was, inevitably, made caput boy.

After nationalist work successful the Royal Navy, his effortless emergence continued astatine Christ Church, Oxford, wherever helium graduated with a archetypal people honours grade successful politics, doctrine and economics

It was astatine Oxford that helium met Margaret, girl of the aboriginal Labour premier curate Jim Callaghan and the mates joined successful 1961.

Jay secured a occupation astatine the Treasury, earlier being appointed economics exertion of the Times.

For a while, helium was based successful Washington wherever helium became enthralled by the enactment of a caller breed of free-market thinkers, including the Chicago-based economist, Milton Friedman.

Jay utilized his columns to beforehand "monetarism" successful England. It aboriginal became Mrs Thatcher's guiding economical doctrine but it besides influenced his father-in-law.

He adjacent said helium wrote parts of Callaghan's 1976 enactment league speech.

"We utilized to deliberation that you could walk your mode retired of a recession," the premier curate told a sceptical audience. "I archer you successful each candour that that enactment nary longer exists."

He suffered fools badly, and saw his articles arsenic portion of a high-minded conflict of ideas.

A sub exertion erstwhile dared to kick that 1 portion was hard to understand.

"I lone wrote this for 3 people", came the lofty reply. "The exertion of the Times, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Governor of the Bank of England."

Jay attempted to travel his begetter into politics, but failed to beryllium selected arsenic the Labour campaigner for Islington South West for the 1970 General Election.

So, helium moved into television.

In the 1970s, helium presented a quality investigation programme called Weekend World for London Weekend Television wherever helium became adjacent friends with the programme's creator, John Birt.

Together, they launched a savage critique of journalistic standards successful TV.

Pictures, they complained, took precedence implicit investigation - and this "bias against understanding" could lone beryllium addressed by bringing successful experts and putting them successful beforehand of camera.

Later, this "mission to explain" became a cardinal diagnostic of Birt's clip arsenic manager wide of the BBC.

Jay mightiness person remained a writer but, successful 1977, helium was abruptly appointed arsenic British Ambassador to Washington.

With nary acquisition successful authorities oregon diplomacy, his assignment was met by furious accusations of nepotism.

James Callaghan faced aggravated questions successful the House of Commons. But the determination had been the Foreign Secretary's.

David Owen had felt the Jays would charm the incoming Carter medication and - by virtuousness of their idiosyncratic relationship - Jay would beryllium loyal successful his service.

"Here comes Peter Jay," was the header successful the Washington Post, "Britain's superb and insufferable caller ambassador".

Jay and Margaret's 2 years successful Washington were a diplomatic occurrence - but a idiosyncratic disaster.

By the clip an incoming Conservative authorities called clip connected Jay's appointment, Margaret was having an matter with Watergate journalist, Carl Bernstein.

The breakdown of 2 marriages was immortalised arsenic Heartburn - a thinly-disguised, autobiographical, tragi-comic caller by Bernstein's wife, Nora Ephron.

It aboriginal became a Hollywood movie starring Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson.

The scandals kept coming. Jay was reported to person fathered a lad with Jane Tustian, their children's nanny astatine the embassy.

The Daily Mail got upwind of it, and - aggravated that he'd near her - Jane told them everything. Jay remained tight-lipped, until a humor trial confirmed helium was the father.

On his instrumentality from the US, Jay led the consortium that acceptable up TV-am, which successfully bid for the ITV meal tv franchise successful December 1980.

The motorboat of the caller TV presumption was beset by highly publicised problems.

He was forced to unreserved the caller broadcaster to aerial conscionable weeks aft the BBC had archetypal broadcast its ain aboriginal greeting TV offering.

The determination to marque the caller amusement highbrow and news-heavy was based connected a mistaken content that the BBC would bash the same.

In the event, viewers were not acceptable for a heavyweight docket implicit their cornflakes, overmuch preferring the BBC's lighter mag benignant of programme.

TV-am's viewing figures plunged, and unit from investors led to a boardroom coup.

Jay was pushed retired successful March 1983. A fortnight later, to large fanfare, came the archetypal quality of Roland Rat.

In 1986, Jay was announced arsenic main of unit to Maxwell, the flamboyant and aboriginal disgraced property and media tycoon.

Maxwell loved calling him "Mr Ambassador", but subjected him to a barrage of precocious nighttime telephone calls and a regular circular of humiliation.

Jay stayed for three-and-a-half years, moving for a antheral helium aboriginal described arsenic "barbarous" but insisting helium managed to shield himself from lasting damage.

"I was surrounded by an invisible solid partition done which (Maxwell) could ne'er penetrate. His mode ne'er got nether my skin," helium said.

In the end, an aged person came to the rescue successful the signifier of Birt, present the BBC's manager general.

During his decennary arsenic the broadcaster's economics editor, Jay reserved his appearances for peculiar occasions.

There was sniping successful the property that helium was hard to tempt distant from his farmhouse successful Oxford, wherever helium lived with his 2nd wife, Emma, and their 3 children.

The item of his clip astatine the BBC came with Road to Riches, a landmark bid which examined the economical past of mankind.

It gave him abstraction to research money, a taxable that had ever fascinated him.

"After sex, wealth is our 2nd appetite" helium erstwhile said, and freely admitted he'd gone into tv to wage for luxuries, similar his precious, backstage yachts.

His clip astatine the BBC came to an extremity successful 2001, astir the clip that Greg Dyke, an incoming manager general, reviewed the mode the broadcaster explained the system to its audience.

After that, Jay spent clip arsenic a manager of the Bank of England, lecturing and doing consulting enactment earlier fading mildly into retirement

He erstwhile described his vocation arsenic ending successful anti-climax, having erstwhile been Ambassador to Washington.

But, much often, helium presented it arsenic "a section of accidents" and "a diverting and enjoyable ramble done life".

But, nary nonsubjective perceiver could picture specified a beingness arsenic a "ramble".

It was a thrilling, exhausting, white-knuckle ride.