Veteran broadcaster Cliff Michelmore has died aged 96, the BBC has announced.

A prolific presenter and former RAF Squadron Leader, he anchored the Corporation's coverage of the Apollo moon landings and several general elections.

BBC director-general Tony Hall led tributes to the "outstanding broadcaster", who had a light style popular with audiences yet possessed the skill to carry out hard-hitting interviews and hold his nerve while covering events of great historical importance.

In a 2013 interview, Sir Michael Parkinson ranked Michelmore with broadcasting greats Sir David Frost and Alan Whicker and hailed the standards their generation set in broadcasting.

Michelmore, whose broadcasting career began in the Second World War, was made a CBE in 1969.

He died at Petersfield Hospital in Hampshire after being admitted last week, his son told the BBC.