Francis Elliott replaces Roland Watson as Times political editor

Roland Watson has been replaced as political editor of The Times by Francis Elliott.

Watson has left Westminster to become the paper’s foreign editor, with Sam Coates also widely expected to move to bolster the political team following the exit of Anushka Asthana, who joined Sky News last month.

Elliott, described by one lobby journalist as a “well-thought of, quiet man”, was co-author of a David Cameron biography, alongside deputy Independent on Sunday editor James Hanning.

The move comes shortly after the paper announced that there could be as many as 20 editorial redundancies across the paper, with several high-profile names thought to be in the frame.

North West correspondent Russell Jenkins is already understood to have left the paper while a number of well-known faces on the London news desk could soon follow.

A Times spokesperson confirmed Watson and Elliott's moves but declined to confirm details of any other departures from the paper.

Topics in this article : The Times