Broadcaster and journalist Edward Stourton has died aged 68, the BBC has confirmed, drawing tributes from colleagues that reflect on a career spanning more than 40 years, including a decade as a presenter on Radio 4's Today programme. He died on Saturday surrounded by his family, having lived with prostate cancer since a 2014 diagnosis that later became incurable and spread, though he continued working until very recently. Former colleagues including James Naughtie, Evan Davis, Mishal Husain and Justin Webb paid tribute to his intellect, generosity and reliability, with Davis calling him "all substance, minimum ego, deeply knowledgeable, totally reliable" and Husain describing him as "a true gentleman".

Stourton's career began at ITN, where he helped launch Channel 4 News and became its first Washington correspondent, before he joined the BBC as Paris correspondent in 1988. He went on to present the One O'Clock News, Panorama and other programmes, becoming a Today presenter in 1999, where his foreign-reporting experience served him covering Lebanon, Afghanistan and the 9/11 attacks; his departure from Today in 2008 was leaked to the press before he was informed, upsetting him and colleagues. He remained at the BBC, later fronting Sunday, The World At One and documentaries reflecting his Catholic faith, and wrote several books, including a biography of Pope John Paul II and his final work, Made in America, published to mark the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.