John Simpson is celebrating the birth of his third child.

The BBC World Affairs editor told the BBC: "It's a really lovely feeling and we're both delighted." He added: "We live in a country where people love to disapprove of others. It's one of the most depressing British characteristics.

"No doubt all sorts of people up and down the land will be saying how disgusting it is that a man in his 60s should be fathering a child. Yet there will be all sorts of advantages to counter balance the problems of age. The great thing we can offer as older parents is the realisation that fun is just about the most important thing in life."

Simpson married television producer Dee in 1996. Simpson already has two daughters from his first marriage, and the child, as yet unnamed, is a year younger than Simpson's youngest grandchild.