DANIEL Sandford is far too modest to edit his own Wikipedia page.

But the BBC Home Affairs correspondent must have been sorely tempted when, shortly after he arrived in Moscow, it was altered to reveal he only got a third-class degree.

“I worked as Moscow correspondent for the BBC between 2010 and 2014 and shortly after I arrived I noticed my Wikipedia entry had been changed,” said Mr Sandford, who is looking forward to returning to Magdalen College School to give a talk at the Oxford Festival for the Arts.

“When I started putting together critical pieces my Wiki page changed and it looked like it had been edited by someone with a Russian nickname.

“It’s absolutely true - not fake news - I did get a third in my physics degree at Southampton University - so there’s no need to edit the page again - it’s all correct.”

The reporter, who joined the BBC in 1998 after a stint with ITN, was not likely to get first-class honours as he spent so much time working for the student newspaper and in theatre productions.

From 1976 to 1984 Mr Sandford, 52, who lived in Ethiopia for part of his childhood, was a pupil at Magdalen College School.

He has been invited back as one of a number of speakers taking part in Oxford Festival of the Arts, now in its 10th year.

On Thursday, from 8pm to 9pm he will be at the festival marquee to deliver The Old Waynflete Lecture, entitled Fake! Tales from the Frontline of the Information War.

As BBC Moscow Correspondent during the height of the Ukraine and Crimea crisis Mr Sandford was an eyewitness to key events.

Whilst in Ukraine and Crimea he reported on the protests as they escalated, from riots in Kiev to the annexation of Crimea, on the war in eastern Ukraine, and on the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines MH17.

He was the first to report on the arrival in Crimea of soldiers in unmarked army uniforms, carrying Russian military weapons, which marked the prelude to the annexation.

Father-of-two Mr Sandford was an eyewitness to all the key events in Ukraine in 2014, and saw how Russia manipulated them in the media.

As a witness to the escalating crisis he had a first-hand view of new ways in which Russia attempted to manipulate reports on the conflicts.

His lecture will focus on his experiences, particularly in 2014, and what they can tell us about the role information is likely to play in shaping future military and diplomatic conflicts.

This all sounds like perfect material for a new book but Mr Sandford is not so sure and he is happy to let his colleagues stake their claim as authors.

He added: “There could be a book in it but I think it it will stay as a talk this time.

“TV journalism is so driven by tight scripting and pictures that it’s not a natural bedfellow for book writing - you don’t necessarily come away with enough material.

“Fake news is still a very topical subject, particularly following the Salisbury incident.”

The journalist is looking forward to returning to Oxford where he spent so many happy years.

During his time at the independent school in East Oxford he was a chorister and stayed on to complete his A-Levels.

“I’ve got nice memories of being in the sixth form and spending summers in the mid-1980s on the school fields,” he said.

“We weren’t supposed to go to pubs and bars but of course some of us did and a fair amount of my time at sixth form was spent in Oxford pubs.

“We used to start out at The Bear off the High Street - the one with all the ties - and then depending on whether it was a hot summer evening we would drift towards The Head of the River. The Turf Tavern was another favourite.”

Mr Sandford said Oxford was an ideal location to grow up in.

“The great thing about being 18 and still at school in a student city is the chance to hang out with the students - you are not that different in age from people who are at uni,” he added.

But the home affairs correspondent admitted that the city’s amenities in those days were not as impressive as they are today.

He added: “I think the Museum of Modern Art was there - that was a good place - but you didn’t have so many cinemas.”

Mr Sandford is delighted to be invited to speak at his old school for the arts festival.

He recalled: “I was a very busy kid when I was there, very involved in sport - I broke a few fingers playing rugby - and I was very involved in music.

“I never got into deep trouble although I talked too much and I was more of an irritant than a trouble-maker.

“The school was a place that encouraged all rounders - you were never pigeon-holed and I’m sure that is still the case today.

“It was a very unassuming place, yes it’s fee-paying but there were no airs and graces.

“It’s a school that generates high achievers and I’m delighted that the festival has a central role to play in the city’s arts calendar.”

Foreign news, for the time being, is on the back-burner for Mr Sandford as his two children are settled at school in the UK.

And its a busy time for the family as his wife, Caro Kriel, has been appointed head of international news for Sky News.

She spent six years as head of international video at AP and two years as its Russian news director – securing the agency’s first ever interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Don’t rule out a return for Mr Sandford to the world’s trouble spots but for the time being he is happy to focus on home affairs.