Kammala jumla mai zuwa: An haifi Philip Jacobson a ranar 10 ga Satumba 1938 zuwa Sydney, daga baya Baron, Jacobson, da matarsa. Mahaifinsa shi ne editan siyasa na "Daily Mirror" kuma daga baya editan "Daily Herald" da "The Sun". An haifi Jacobson ne a Stanmore, Middlesex, kuma ya yi karatu a Dorset da kuma makarantu a wasu wurare. Ya yi aikinsa na kasa a cikin wani rukunin tanki da aka kafa a Malaya a lokacin
gaggawa. Daga baya ya sami digiri a fannin siyasa a Makarantar Tattalin Arziki ta London.