Journalist and broadcaster Sir Alastair Burnet, known for his long career as an ITN news presenter, has died aged 84.

He first joined ITN in 1963 as political editor but left two years later to become editor of the The Economist.

Sir Alastair returned to present the news in 1976 and became the authoritative voice of ITN, describing the Apollo space missions and the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

He was knighted for his services to journalism and broadcasting in 1984.

The CEO of ITN, John Hardie, said: “ITN stands on the shoulders of giants, none greater than Sir Alastair Burnet.

"He defined newscasting for a generation and his influence is still clearly evident today. He set the bar to a standard that has never been surpassed and perhaps not even equalled.

"Sir Alastair will be sorely missed by many here at ITN, but his legacy lives on.”

His family will hold a private funeral but a memorial service will also be organised at a later date.