Newsnight’s political editor, Allegra Stratton, is expected to defect to ITV News in what would be a blow for the BBC’s flagship current affairs programme.
Stratton, who joined the BBC2 show in late 2011, is in the final stages of talks about the new role of national editor.
She has not officially informed Newsnight that she has accepted the ITV offer, but insiders say she is not expected to remain at the BBC.
Stratton joined the BBC2 programme from the Guardian, where she was a political correspondent, succeeding Michael Crick when he moved to Channel 4 News.
She had previously worked at the BBC as a producer on Newsnight as well as working on This Week and the Daily Politics.
Stratton was believed to be in the frame to replace Nick Robinson as the BBC’s political editor, a job that eventually went to her erstwhile Newsnight colleague Laura Kuenssberg.
ITN declined to comment on the talks. The BBC had not responded to a request for comment by the time of publication.
If the channel switch is confirmed, Stratton would be the third high-profile BBC journalist in two months to defect to ITN, which produces news programmes for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
In October, the BBC’s economics editor, Robert Peston, announced he will move to ITV to become political editor and host a new Sunday morning talkshow. The corporation fought to keep him with the offer of presenting a revamped Newsnight on Thursdays.
Earlier this month, the long-serving BBC presenter Sian Williams moved to head Channel 5’s main evening news programme.
Separately, Newsnight’s economics correspondent, Duncan Weldon, is also set to leave the programme. The March 2014 appointment of Weldon, a former senior economist at the Trades Union Congress and adviser to Harriet Harman, sparked accusations of evidence of left-wing bias at the BBC following the appointment of former Guardian deputy editor Ian Katz as the programme’s editor in July 2013.
Weldon will leave the corporation in January to become head of research at financial investment firm Resolution Group.
The Newsnight departures come as the BBC considers extending its flagship 10pm news bulletin by 15 minutes to take on ITV’s revamped News at Ten, which is now presented by former political editor Tom Bradby.
Some have questioned whether Newsnight, whose running time was recently cut by 5 minutes to 40 minutes, would have a long-term future if the 10pm bulletin was lengthened. It is believed many viewers would stay with BBC1 until the news ends at 10.45pm, rather than switch to BBC2 at 10.30pm for Newsnight.
BBC1 ran a longer 10pm bulletin for five months in the run-up to the general election in May. When the two programmes overlapped for 15 minutes during that period, ratings for Newsnight fell by 10%.
The former Today presenter Evan Davis became the main host of Newsnight in September 2014 following the departure of Jeremy Paxman after 25 years. The programme’s viewing figures have since fallen by 3%.
