Andrew Neil

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the journalist Andrew Neil. For 11 years he was editor of The Sunday Times. Under him, the paper broke the story of Israel's nuclear capabilities, revealed the Queen's dismay at the tone of Margaret Thatcher's administration and shone a bright light onto the difficulties of Princess Diana and Prince Charles's marriage. But as well as reporting the news, the paper made headlines too - Andrew Neil steered The Sunday Times through its move to Wapping and the bitter and often violent dispute that followed.

Much has been made of his rise to be a figure at the heart of the establishment. A grammar school boy who went on to study at Glasgow University, he threw himself into university life; he edited the student newspaper, was a keen young debater and chairman of the Federation of Conservative Students. It seemed as if he was destined for a life in politics - but he decided he wanted to live a little first and then found that while he revelled in the political debate, the life of an MP was not for him. He is now Editor in Chief at Press Holdings and an established and authoritative political broadcaster.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: First Movement of Violin Concerto in D Major by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Book: Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith Luxury: Wind-up radio.