Alastair leithead biography

Alastair Leithead was.
Alastair Malcolm Leithead is an English journalist working as a foreign correspondent for the BBC. Leithead was based in Nairobi from 2015 to 2019.
Alastair Leithead.

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Off-grid and Ignorant in Portugal

There have been occasions when I’ve strolled up to our building site expecting a hive of activity, only to discover the Mary Celeste.

Perhaps that’s an apt comparison, given the abandoned ship was found drifting somewhere between the Azores islands and the Portuguese coast in 1872 with no crew – what happened to them remains a mystery to this day.

Tumble weeds don’t even grow here, but I’d swear I’ve seen them in the corner of my eye on those days where a sprinkle of drizzle or an ominous weather forecast has kept everyone away despite a daunting list of deadlines.

Inoculated by past disappointments I wandered up the hill this week with low expectations, only to stumble into rush hour at Paddington Station.

I struggled to find a parking space among the various sized white vans, piles of newly delivered limestone cobbles, and rumbling trucks.

There were electricians and carpenters, gutter fitters and pool people, the plumber, the water guy, delivery drivers, and...drumroll please...the door and window installers!

Our hopes and dreams,

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Alastair Leithead

English journalist

Alastair Malcolm Leithead (; born 1972) is an English journalist working as a foreign correspondent for the BBC. Leithead was based in Nairobi from 2015 to 2019.^[1] He works across all BBC News outlets.

Early life

Alastair Leithead was born in Amersham to Arthur Leithead, a security manager, and Edna Leithead (née Mooney), a teacher in private education. He was raised in Blaydon-on-Tyne and educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle.^[2] He then went to the University of Manchester to study geography.^[3]

Early career

After graduating from the University, Leithead worked at the Newcastle Evening Chronicle before joining BBC Radio Newcastle. Later he worked as a news producer in London.

Foreign reporting

As a foreign correspondent, Leithead has been based in Africa and Asia before moving to Kabul. There he covered the war in Afghanistan. Leithead has reported from a refugee camp in South Sudan. More recently, he has been based in Los Angeles before being re-located to Kenya