James Mates was born on 11 August 1961 and is an English newsreader and journalist, currently employed by ITN, where he presents on ITV News and is Europe Editor.
14 Facts About James Mates
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James Mates left Marlborough at the age of sixteen to sit A-levels at Farnham College in Farnham in Surrey and then studied at the University of Leeds from which he graduated, in 1983, with a degree in International History and Politics.
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James Mates joined ITN in 1983 as an editorial trainee and was appointed scriptwriter in the ITV newsroom two years later.
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James Mates was made a general reporter at ITN in 1986.
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James Mates spent five weeks in Zeebrugge in 1987 during the operation to raise the capsized ferry 'Herald of Free Enterprise'.
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The failure was attributed to prejudicial comments made in Parliament by his father, Lieutenant Colonel Michael James Mates, MP, which implied that Ryan was a terrorist.
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In 1991 James Mates was North of England correspondent for ITV, and later that year became Moscow correspondent, a role he kept until 1993.
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James Mates reported on the slaughter of countless soldiers and civilians and the plight of the 700,000 refugees who fled the carnage.
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James Mates won a joint Silver Medal from New York for his 1996 coverage of the refugee crisis in former Yugoslavia.
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Just before covering the war in Rwanda, James Mates had been in South Africa reporting on the first-ever democratic elections in the country, which culminated in Nelson Mandela's inauguration as President.
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In 2001 James Mates played a key role in ITV News coverage of the September 11 attacks, reporting from New York and Washington.
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In January 2012, James Mates became "Europe Editor" for ITV News, focussing on the future of the EU and what it means to the UK.
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James Mates was raised in Maidenhead, Berkshire and is the son of former Conservative Party MP Michael James Mates.
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James Mates enjoys playing bridge with his mates, and plays mostly at the Andrew Robson Bridge Club in west London.