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Peter Horrocks
Peter Horrocks
Peter Horrocks
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Peter John Gibson Horrocks CBE[1] (born 8 October 1959) is a broadcast executive and a former Vice-Chancellor (chief executive) of The Open University. He was educated at the independent King's College School in Wimbledon and at Christ's College, Cambridge. He was previously director of the BBC World Service Group.

Key Information

BBC

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Horrocks joined the BBC in October 1981 as a news trainee. He worked on Newsnight as an assistant producer and then producer. After time as a senior producer, intake editor and output editor on Breakfast Time, he became deputy editor of Panorama in 1988.

Horrocks edited BBC television's coverage of the 1992 general election. He edited the coverage of the Budget, by-elections and local elections, as well as the 1994 European Election results and General Election results programmes in May 1997.

In May 1992, Horrocks was appointed editor of BBC Two's social affairs programme, Public Eye, a position he held until he launched Here And Now, a current affairs magazine intended to capture high audience figures, in January 1994. He became editor of Newsnight in April 1994, and editor of Panorama in December 1997. Horrocks became Head of Current Affairs in June 2000. He was executive producer of Brits, True Spies, Smallpox 2002, The Day Britain Stopped, Dirty War and of the documentary trilogy The Power of Nightmares. Horrocks won Bafta awards in 1997 and 2005 for his editorship of Newsnight and for The Power of Nightmares.

He became Head of Television News in September 2005. In November 2007, following restructuring of BBC News, he became Head of the BBC newsroom.[2]

In April 2009, he replaced Nigel Chapman as Head of the BBC World Service and was responsible for the overall editorial leadership and management, a post in which he remained until 2014.[3] He is the chairman of the BBC Media Action Board of Trustees (Previously called the BBC World Service Trust).[4]

While at the BBC he was paid a salary of £240,000 in 2013.[5]

The Open University

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The Open University announced on 11 December 2014, that Horrocks had been appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University, taking over the role vacated by Martin Bean.[6] He took up the post on 5 May 2015, and was paid £360,000 per year.[7]

In 2018 Horrocks took part in a Parliamentary hearing on value for money in higher education, with MPs criticising the level of pay of vice-chancellors and asking them to justify their salaries. Horrocks acknowledged that the issue "potentially undermine the value of universities in this country”.[7]

Proposals to cut £100 million from the annual budget of £420 million cutting courses by a third and significant staff redundancies were announced in March 2018.[8][9] Horrocks described the changes, reducing courses by a third, as "reprioritising".[9] Horrocks had also angered some staff by saying academics "get away with not teaching". He later issued a letter of apology and stated: "I sincerely regret that my careless language caused offence or hurt".[10]

The following month, the OU's branch of the University and College Union (UCU) passed a vote of no confidence in Horrocks, or his plans.[8] In response, the regional UCU called Horrocks to resign "as soon as possible".[10] Horrocks resigned from the post of Vice-Chancellor (having to choose between it, or being fired) on 13 April 2018 "with immediate effect".[11] He remained as a consultant to the institution for a further three months.[12]

Personal life

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Horrocks is married and has three children.[13][14]

References

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Peter Horrocks

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Peter John Gibson Horrocks CBE is a British broadcast executive and journalist known for his prominent roles in BBC news and current affairs programming, as well as his leadership of BBC World Service and subsequent tenure as Vice-Chancellor of the Open University. He joined the BBC in 1981 as a news trainee and advanced through key editorial positions, including Editor of Panorama and Newsnight, Head of Current Affairs, and Head of the Multi Media Newsroom, where he oversaw the integration of television, radio, and online journalism. His work on major political coverage, such as election night programmes and documentary series, earned him two BAFTA awards. In 2009, Horrocks was appointed Director of BBC World Service, leading the organisation's global news output across multiple platforms and managing a large international workforce. He held this position until 2015, when he transitioned to higher education as Vice-Chancellor of the Open University, an institution focused on distance learning. During his time at the Open University, he aimed to drive innovation and adapt to sector challenges, but resigned in 2018 amid staff opposition to proposed course reductions and redundancies. Since 2018, Horrocks has pursued non-executive roles, including serving as Chair of the Southeast Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership from 2019 and as Chair of One World Media. Horrocks' career spans media leadership and educational administration, with contributions to international broadcasting and institutional adaptation in journalism and higher education.

Early life

Birth and background

Peter Horrocks was born in 1959 in south London, England. He was raised in south London. His father was an optician, and his mother volunteered in Citizens Advice bureaux. Horrocks attended the independent King's College School in Wimbledon, with fees paid by the local council. While at the school, he produced a satirical publication caricaturing teachers, but it was seized and destroyed because it "went too far." He studied history at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he earned a first-class degree and edited the university newspaper. Limited additional public information is available on his childhood or family beyond these details.

Career

Peter Horrocks joined the BBC in 1981 as a news trainee and advanced through several key editorial roles. He served as Editor of Panorama and Newsnight, Head of Current Affairs, and Head of the Multi Media Newsroom, where he oversaw the integration of television, radio, and online journalism. His contributions to major political coverage, including election night programmes and documentary series, earned him two BAFTA awards. In 2009, he was appointed Director of BBC World Service, where he led the organisation's global news output across multiple platforms and managed a large international workforce until 2015. In 2015, Horrocks transitioned to higher education as Vice-Chancellor of the Open University. During his tenure, he focused on innovation and adapting to challenges in the sector, but resigned in 2018 following staff opposition to proposed course reductions and redundancies.

Awards and recognition

Peter Horrocks won two BAFTA Television Awards during his BBC career. In 1997, he won the BAFTA in the News Coverage category for his editorship of BBC Newsnight: BSE Coverage. He was also nominated in the same category for BBC Newsnight: Dunblane Massacre. In 2005, he won a BAFTA for the documentary series The Power of Nightmares. Additionally, Horrocks was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2015 for services to broadcasting. Peter Horrocks is alive as of 2024. He is a current member of the Ofcom Content Board, with his appointment running until October 31, 2026. Reports of his death in 1994 refer to a different individual with the same name, a sound editor born in 1944.
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