Media/Politics Speakers

Beth Rigby is Sky News’ Political Editor. The first women to ever hold the position, she is a leading face of the channel and ever-present on our screens, covering political news not just from the heart of Westminster but around the country. She has been described as “ the stand out political broadcaster of our times” by the RTS magazine.

Beth Rigby

Originally criminal law barrister, who has ended up as a television personality. He came to prominence on the reality courtroom series Judge Rinder, but that’s way behind him now! He’s presented documentaries on the Holocaust, featured on Who Do you Think You Are? and recently undertook a Grand Tour with Rylan! Really engaging character, far removed from his tabloid Judge Rinder days, and genuinely engaging.

Robert Rinder

Former US Senior Advisor for Innovation to the Secretary of State

Alec Ross

Raphael Rowe - BBC Panorama reporter who was wrongly imprisoned for murder. Hosts the Netflix show 'Inside the Worlds Toughest Prisons'

Raphael Rowe

Stephen Sackur presents BBC Hardtalk which is broadcast on BBC News 24 and BBC World News. He is a former foreign correspondent who had postings in Washington, Brussels and the Middle East, having started his career in Eastern Europe. Has an encyclopaedic knowledge of world events and what makes the world go around.

Stephen Sackur

Art History and History Professor at Columbia University. Author of many books on history and art including the History of Britain and The Story of the Jews.

Simon Schama

Brigitte Scheffer is a journalist and award winning documentary maker whose work can be found on Amazon and Netflix. She has worked for the likes of Bloomberg, CNN and the BBC World. She has also held communication roles for NGOs and the Saudi government. Her areas of expertise include marine conservation, the Arab world and the energy sector. Fluent in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Arabic (3 dialects); she also speaks some Russian.

Brigitte Scheffer

Former political editor for the BBC and ITV, who has gone on to present and appear on numerous programmes from Question Time to Strictly Come Dancing!

John Sergeant

Head of creative diversity at Channel 4. Expert in the future of inclusive leadership and a trailblazer for social enterprise.

Naomi Sesay

Oliver Shah is the Business Editor of The Sunday Times and a best selling author. He was named business journalist of the year at the 2017 Press Awards for his investigation into Sir Philip Green’s £1 sale of BHS. He was also named business journalist of the year at the 2017 London Press Club Awards.

Oliver Shah

Political Editor of the Sunday Times and author of All Out War, the definitive account of the Brexit referendum. A national newspaper journalist with a wealth of experience reporting on British and American politics and international relations. As we approach another election, can provide an informed view on the state of the nation.

Tim Shipman

Alexandra Shulman is a British journalist and former Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue.

Alexandra Shulman

Well known face on TV and theatre, including stints in Netflix hit, The Crown. He has written 2 best selling books and has been described as "One of the funniest writers in Britain" by The Daily Mail. Michael draws on a treasure trove of anecdotes from the acting world, be it stage or screen, both big and small.

Michael Simkins

Samantha Simmonds is a TV news presenter, journalist and broadcaster with more than 20 years experience. Currently one of the presenters on BBC One's Sunday politics at 10am. A great host and moderator for conferences.

Samantha Simmonds

Writer, presenter and journalist Martin was BBC foreign correspondent in Moscow, Washington, Brussels and Warsaw. He covered the end of the Cold War, the Solidarity uprisings in Poland and the election of President Clinton. He was Director of Communications for Tony Blair's government and has worked extensively in the former Soviet Union. A fascinating speaker who can talk about all manner of geo political issue – he is also the author of Philomena, which was turned into a film with Steve Coogan playing him!

Martin Sixsmith