George Pascoe-Watson

George Pascoe-Watson (born 21 August 1966) is a British journalist and public relations consultant. He was formerly the political editor of The Sun newspaper, succeeding Trevor Kavanagh in January 2006.

He left The Sun in 2009 to pursue a career in consultancy, spending 14 years working for the Portland Communications agency founded by Tony Blair's former advisor Tim Allan in 2001. He is currently a founding partner at Schillings Communications.

Early life Pascoe-Watson was born in Edinburgh in 1966 to an RAF pilot and a nursing sister.

In his early days at the paper, he was bylined 'Pascoe Watson' as his superiors thought the forename George and his double-barrelled surname to be too effete for the red-top's primarily working-class readership. However, they relented after he went into the Lobby.

Pascoe-Watson joined The Sun 's political team in 1994. A decade later, in January 2006, he took over from Trevor Kavanagh as political editor, a post that he held until his move into consultancy.

In 2020, during the COVID pandemic Pascoe-Watson was appointed to an unpaid advisory role by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); he participated in daily strategic discussions chaired by Lord Bethell. He also sent information about government policy to his paying clients before this was made public.

Pascoe-Watson co-founded Schillings Communications in January 2024, with Victoria O'Byrne. The firm is a reputation management agency affiliated with Schillings, the British libel law firm. O’Byrne was previously responsible for communications for the Prince and Princess of Wales, Richard Branson at Virgin Group, and the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and started her career as a communications advisor for the Labour Party. Pascoe-Watson and O'Byrne are both equity partners in the venture.

Pascoe-Watson has been a regular panellist on multiple broadcast shows in the UK, including BBC Question Time, Sky News, BBC News, The Week in Westminster and BBC Radio 5 Live, among others.

Personal life Pascoe-Watson married Natalie Kirby in January 2011. The two met in the Lobby, when he was political editor at The Sun and she was working for William Hague.