Freed from the shackles of the BBC behemoth, Jeremy Paxman seems to be enjoying getting off the fence and telling us what he really thinks.  It turns out he claims to be a closet Eurosceptic who believes Europe has been “nothing but trouble for us”, and has been secretly sound all along:“I am in favour of governments getting out of people’s lives. Particularly foreign government. The closer you can take decision-making to the people affected by those decisions, the better.” Speaking at Chalke Valley History Festival, Paxo revealed political leanings for the first time: “I have to be frank, I suppose I am a one-nation Tory, yes.” He also gave the audience his explanation for Newsnight’s shift to the left:

“Look, Newsnight is made by 13-year-olds. It’s perfectly normal when you’re young that you want to change the world. The older you get, the more you realise what a fools’ errand much of that is and that the thing to do is to manage the best you can to the advantage of as many people as possible.”

That explains Ian Katz’s tousled hair and youthful looks…

UPDATE:  Ian Katz responds:

@MediaGuido 14

— Ian Katz (@iankatz1000) June 27, 2014

Zoe recalls the 14 year-old Newsnight editor none too fondly…

Let it go Zoe, it was 30 years ago…