Speakers and Moderators
Sarah Smith, Americast & North America Editor, Americast
Former Sunday Politics presenter, Sarah Smith is the BBC’s North America Editor. Previously she was the organisation’s inaugural Scotland Editor and played a leading role in the corporation’s coverage of the independence referendum.
Prior to her BBC roles, Sarah served as Business Correspondent for Channel 4 News as well as Washington Correspondent, where she covered all things US, including Barack Obama’s election to President.
Sarah has also worked for BBC Northern Ireland, Newsnight and Channel 5, and was the first newsreader on More4 News when it launched in 2005. Sarah has covered stories as diverse as the Madrid train bombings and the trial of Sadaam Hussain, and was once held at gunpoint by the UDA in Belfast.
Sarah sits on the Advisory Council of the John Smith Memorial Trust, and is a director of Assembly Theatre in Edinburgh, one of the premier Fringe Festival venues.