Guto Harri

Guto Harri was born in Cardiff to writer and psychiatrist Harri Pritchard-Jones and Lenna (née Harries).{{Cite web|url=https://www.southwales.ac.uk/alumni/your-community/news/2018-news/honorary-doctorate-political-broadcaster/|title=Honorary Doctorate for political broadcaster, Guto Harri|website=www.southwales.ac.uk|language=en|access-date=2019-09-17}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-18151502|title=From Boris to Murdoch for PR man|last=Prior|first=Neil|work=BBC News|date=2012-05-21|access-date=2019-10-05|language=en-GB}} A native Welsh speaker, he studied at Tonyrefail School and Ysgol Bryntaf,{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/newswatch/ifs/hi/newsid_4360000/newsid_4360400/4360466.stm|title=Guto Harri|work=BBC News|date=2005-10-20|access-date=2019-10-05|language=en-GB}} before attending Ysgol Gyfun Llanhari. After school Harri attended The Queen's College, Oxford, where he studied philosophy, politics and economics.{{cite web | url= https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/may/04/boris-johnson-aide-may-quit | title= Top Boris Johnson aide may quit City Hall | work=The Guardian | first=Hélène | last=Mulholland | date=4 May 2012 | access-date=10 August 2021}} He then undertook a postgraduate course in broadcast journalism at Cardiff University.

He started his career in Welsh-language radio before moving into network radio and television. He remained a regular contributor on the S4C news programme Newyddion (“News”) as well as on a number of historical documentaries for S4C. He later presented a number of BBC Wales' main election programmes.

Harri was a regular presenter on BBC television and radio programmes such as The World at One,{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/may/10/boris.localgovernment|title=New recruit: Boris Johnson appoints Guto Hari|last=Sparrow|first=Andrew|date=9 May 2008|work=The Guardian|access-date=5 October 2019|issn=0261-3077}} Westminster Live, Straight Talk, Despatch Box and The World This Weekend. He covered the collapse of communism in Romania, Czechoslovakia and East Germany before reporting on the Gulf War from Saudi Arabia, Jordan and northern Iraq. He became the BBC's chief political correspondent in November 2002 and also presented the weekly interview programme, One To One. He moved briefly to Rome from July 2004 to January 2005 and then became North America business correspondent based in New York City until June 2007.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

Harri was appointed as a trustee of S4C in 2014,{{cite web |title=Sajid Javid appoints 3 new Trustees to S4C |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/sajid-javid-appoints-3-new-trustees-to-s4c#:~:text=and%20creative%20industries-,Sajid%20Javid%20appoints%203%20new%20Trustees%20to%20S4C,members%20of%20the%20S4C%20Authority|website=gov.uk |publisher=Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and S4C |date=7 July 2014}} and he was a member of the S4C Authority from 2014 to 2018.{{cite web |title=S4C Chair thanks Guto Harri for his contribution |url=https://www.s4c.cymru/en/press/post/29043/s4c-chair-thanks-guto-harri-for-his-contribution/ |work=S4C |date=2018 |quote=Guto Harri was a member of the Authority from 9 July 2014 and his term would have run until 8 July 2020. His last meeting will be 27 Sept 2018.}}

Since June 2018, he has presented the S4C current affairs television programme, Y Byd yn ei Le.{{cite web|url=https://www.lleol.cymru/blog/guto-harri-yn-rhoir-byd-yn-ei-le.html |title=Guto Harri yn rhoi'r byd yn ei le mewn cyfres newydd |date=12 June 2018 |work=Lleol.Cymru |language=Welsh |accessdate=27 January 2020}} S4C confirmed that he would not continue hosting the programme following his appointment as Downing Street Director of Communications.{{cite news |last1=Morris |first1=Jacob |title=Boris Johnson yn cymryd y ben-glin ac yn canu 'I Will Survive' wrth benodi ei Gyfarwyddwr Cyfathrebu newydd|trans-title=Boris Johnson takes a knee and sings 'I Will Survive' when appointing his new Director of Communications |url=https://golwg.360.cymru/newyddion/gwleidyddiaeth/2087256-boris-johnson-cymryd-glin-chanu-will-survive-wrth |access-date=7 February 2022 |work=Golwg360 |date=7 February 2022 |language=cy}}

In May 2021, it was announced that Harri would be joining GB News as co-host of a weekly news and discussion programme.{{cite news|url=https://nation.cymru/news/guto-harri-joins-new-tv-channel-gb-news/|title=Guto Harri joins new TV channel GB News|access-date=19 July 2021|date=29 May 2021|work=Nation.Cymru}} On 13 July 2021, Harri took the knee on GB News to show support for the England football team's kneeling for anti-racism; following backlash from viewers, GB News suspended him indefinitely for failing to maintain the editorial standards expected by the network.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jul/16/gb-news-pulls-guto-harri-off-air-taking-the-knee-row|title=GB News pulls Guto Harri off air after 'taking the knee' row|last=Waterson|first=Jim|work=The Guardian|date=16 July 2021|accessdate=16 July 2021}}{{Cite news|date=16 July 2021|title=GB News says presenter Guto Harri breached standards by taking the knee|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-57862332|access-date=16 July 2021}} Shortly afterwards, he resigned from GB News,{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Mark |title=Guto Harri quits GB News as Nigel Farage is given prime-time show |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jul/18/guto-harri-quits-gb-news-as-nigel-farage-is-given-prime-time-show |work=The Observer |date=18 July 2021 |access-date=6 February 2022}} having written in The Sunday Times that the channel was "becoming an absurd parody" that was replicating cancel culture on the far right.{{Cite news|last=Harri|first=Guto|date=18 July 2021|title=They claim to believe in free speech, but not when I took the knee|work=The Sunday Times|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/society/article/they-claim-to-believe-in-free-speech-but-not-when-i-took-the-knee-z8d35txtt|url-access=subscription|access-date=17 August 2021|issn=0140-0460|quote=I joined, part-time but with an ongoing commitment, because I liked and trusted those in charge and supported the broad vision. But the channel is rapidly becoming an absurd parody of what it proclaimed to be. Rather than defending free speech and confronting cancel culture, it has set out to replicate it on the far right.}}{{cite news|date=19 July 2021|title=Harri 'quits GB News following row over taking the knee|work=RTE News|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2021/0719/1236040-guto-harri-gbnews/|accessdate=19 July 2021}}

After leaving the BBC at the end of 2007, he was approached to work for Conservative Party leader David Cameron, but joined London public relations agency Fleishman-Hillard as a senior policy advisor, reportedly spending four days as an adviser to Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

In May 2008, he was appointed communications director for Mayor of London Boris Johnson's administration at London City Hall. Harri joined News UK in May 2012 as a director of communications and corporate affairs, but left in December 2015, remarking that he was leaving with the "job done" after the fallout over phone hacking at the company.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/10/news-uk-pr-chief-guto-harri-to-leave-after-three-years|title=News UK PR chief Guto Harri to leave after three years|last=Sweney|first=Mark|date=10 November 2015|work=The Guardian|access-date=17 September 2019}}

He then joined Virgin Media owner Liberty Global in February 2016 as their managing director of external communications.{{Cite web|title = Boris Johnson's former aide takes PR job with News International|url = https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/may/20/boris-johnson-aide-news-international|work=The Guardian|date=20 May 2012|accessdate = 5 January 2016|first = Hélène|last = Mulholl}}{{Cite web|title = News UK PR chief Guto Harri to join Virgin Media owner Liberty Global|url = https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/dec/21/news-uk-pr-chief-guto-harri-virgin-media-liberty-global|date=21 December 2015|work=The Guardian|accessdate = 5 January 2016|first = Mark|last = Sweney}} He left the role in December 2017.

In May 2018, Harri took a part-time role with London PR firm Hanover Communications as a vice president, for GQ magazine as a contributing political editor,{{Cite web|url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/brexit-and-catholicism|title=The Vatican has proved that, if you want a decision made quickly, you need to lock them in|website=British GQ|language=en-GB|date=13 May 2019|access-date=17 September 2019|last=Harri|first=Guto}} and also for Hydro Industries, a water treatment company based in Llanelli where he is a director.{{Cite web|url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07364156/filing-history|title=HYDRO INDUSTRIES LIMITED - Filing History (free information from Companies House)|date=14 June 2018|website=Companies House|access-date=17 September 2019}}{{cite web |title=Meet the team - Guto Harri |url=http://www.hydro-industries.co.uk/meet-the-team.htm?teamid=31&id=38 |website=Hydro Industries |access-date=19 July 2021 |archive-date=19 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719225511/http://www.hydro-industries.co.uk/meet-the-team.htm?teamid=31&id=38 |url-status=dead }}

Harri is a critic of Brexit.{{cite news |title=Boris Johnson names two new aides after No 10 party turmoil |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-60274440 |access-date=6 February 2022 |work=BBC News |date=6 February 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Mason |first1=Rowena |title=Keep your friends close: why Boris Johnson hired Guto Harri |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/feb/06/keep-your-friends-close-why-boris-johnson-hired-guto-harri |access-date=6 February 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=6 February 2022}} After Johnson likened Prime Minister Theresa May's Chequers Brexit agreement to a "suicide vest" around the British constitution in September 2018, Harri criticised Johnson for "[joking] about suicide vests" and being "sexually incontinent", saying he was "digging his political grave" with his comments.{{cite news |last1=Schofield |first1=Kevin |title=Boris Johnson's New Spin Doctor Once Accused Him Of 'Digging His Political Grave' |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/guto-harri-boris-johnson_uk_61ff6fa1e4b05004242e4d3b |access-date=6 February 2022 |work=HuffPost UK |date=6 February 2022}} He also said Johnson had become "more tribal, and tribal within the tribe, so that he would now be—if he were to become leader—a hugely divisive figure".

Harri was a board director of Hawthorn Advisors, a communications consultancy based in London and co-founded by Conservative Party co-chair Ben Elliot in 2013.{{cite web |title=Our People |url=https://www.hawthornadvisors.com/people |website=Hawthorn Advisors |access-date=19 July 2021 |archive-date=19 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719225841/https://www.hawthornadvisors.com/people |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |last1=Owen |first1=Jonathan |title=Hawthorn Advisors distances itself from co-founder amid lobbying row |url=https://www.prweek.com/article/1724424/hawthorn-advisors-distances-itself-co-founder-amid-lobbying-row |website=PR Week |access-date=7 February 2022 |date=10 August 2021}} Hawthorn advised and lobbied the government on behalf of Huawei, a firm with close ties to the Chinese government that has been accused of spying on 5G networks in the UK and other Western nations.{{cite news |title=Boris Johnson sang 'I Will Survive' to new communications chief Guto Harri |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-60289339 |access-date=7 February 2022 |work=BBC News |date=7 February 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Merrick |first1=Rob |title=Labour demands answers over Boris Johnson's new spin chief's lobbying for Huawei |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-huawei-guto-harri-b2009083.html |access-date=7 February 2022 |work=The Independent |date=7 February 2022}} Harri personally met with top executives from Huawei, including the company's vice-president, in 2020.

Harri was critical of Boris Johnson over parties held in Downing Street and Westminster during COVID-19 lockdowns, although he has argued that people were losing their "sense of perspective" over the controversy. After a wave of resignations from Boris Johnson's team at 10 Downing Street in February 2022 in light of the scandal, he became Downing Street Director of Communications, replacing Jack Doyle.

Harri left his Director of Communications post on 6 September 2022, the same day that Johnson resigned as Prime Minister.{{Cite web |date=6 September 2022 |title=Boris Johnson hints at comeback ambition as he departs Downing Street |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/06/we-will-come-out-stronger-boris-johnson-delivers-farewell-speech-downing-street-liz-truss |access-date=11 October 2022|website=the Guardian |language=en}}[https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/guto-harri-says-boris-johnson-24950103 Guto Harri says Boris Johnson was 'an exceptional Prime Minister' as he leaves Number 10 post], walesonline.co.uk. Accessed 18 October 2022.

Harri grew up in Rhondda Cynon Taf. He married his wife, Shireen, in 2000 and has three children.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/biographies/biogs/news/gutoharri.shtml|title=BBC Press Office biography}} In 2005, Harri published an advertisement in the Western Mail seeking a Welsh-speaking nanny for their two children while he worked for the BBC in New York City, in which he argued for the importance of the language in bringing up his children.{{Cite news|url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/guto-seeks-welsh-speaking-nanny-2391540|title=Guto seeks Welsh-speaking nanny|date=1 June 2005|website=WalesOnline|access-date=17 September 2019}} Outside work he says he enjoys rowing, sailing, fishing and cooking.

Harri is a non-executive board member of the Hay Festival.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hayfestival.com/about-hay-festival|title = About Hay Festival}} He was previously a trustee for UK-based cultural non-governmental organisation Visiting Arts.{{Cite web|title=Visiting Arts Board|url=http://www.visitingarts.org.uk/about/board/|access-date=6 November 2019|archive-date=6 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106160822/http://www.visitingarts.org.uk/about/board/|url-status=dead}} Harri is trained and serves as a volunteer crew member on the River Thames for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.{{cite web |title=Guto Harri |url=http://www.atlanticspeakerbureau.com/guto-harri/speaker |website=Atlantic Speaker Bureau |access-date=19 July 2021}} He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of South Wales.

He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours for political and public service.{{cite web |title=Resignation Honours 2023 |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1162124/Resignation_Honours_2023.pdf |website=GOV.UK |access-date=9 June 2023}}{{London Gazette|date=21 July 2023|issue=64120|page=14503|supp=y}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160912042423/http://www.adambienkov.com/2010/12/boris-johnson-buffoon-says-guto-harri.html Guto Harri calls Boris Johnson a "buffoon"]
• [https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/oct/07/guto-harri-linked-role-s4c Guto Harri linked to S4C role]
• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/newswatch/ukfs/hi/newsid_4360000/newsid_4360400/4360466.stm Profile] at BBC Newswatch

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Category:1966 births

Category:Living people

Category:Journalists from Cardiff

Category:Alumni of the Queen's College, Oxford

Category:Alumni of Cardiff University

Category:Welsh-speaking journalists

Category:Welsh television journalists

Category:BBC Cymru Wales newsreaders and journalists

Category:BBC newsreaders and journalists

Category:People educated at Ysgol Gyfun Llanhari

Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire

Category:GB News