Isabel Oakeshott

Isabel Euphemia Oakeshott[1] (born 12 June 1974) is a British political journalist and broadcaster. She was the political editor of The Sunday Times and is the co-author, with Michael Ashcroft, of an unauthorised biography of former British prime minister David Cameron, Call Me Dave, and of various other non-fiction titles, including White Flag?, an examination of the UK's defence capability, also written with Lord Ashcroft; Farmageddon, co-authored with Philip Lymbery.

Isabel Oakeshott
Oakeshott in 2016
Born
Isabel Euphemia Oakeshott

(1974-06-12) 12 June 1974
Westminster, London, England
EducationGordonstoun
Alma materUniversity of Bristol
OccupationPolitical journalist
Spouse(s)Nigel Rosser
Children3
Websitewww.isabeloakeshott.com

Early life

Oakeshott was born in Westminster, London.[2] She attended Gordonstoun School in Moray, Scotland,[3] before graduating in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Bristol.[4]

Journalism career

Oakeshott began her career in journalism working in Scotland for the East Lothian Courier, Edinburgh Evening News, Daily Record, Sunday Mirror and Daily Mail, before returning to London and joining the Evening Standard as the Health correspondent.[5]

After three years, Oakeshott moved to The Sunday Times in 2006 as deputy political editor,[6] becoming political editor in 2010, and remained until 2014.[7] Oakeshott was awarded the title "Political Journalist of the Year" at the 2011 British Press Awards.[8]

In 2013, while at The Sunday Times, she persuaded Vicky Pryce to implicate her estranged husband, former Liberal Democrat MP and Cabinet minister Chris Huhne, in perverting the course of justice, leading to the case R v Huhne, and to both Pryce and Huhne being convicted and imprisoned.[9]

Oakeshott has appeared as a panelist on the BBC's Daily Politics,[10] as well as on BBC TV's Question Time,[11] and has been a contributor to Sky News' Press Preview programme.[12][13]

Between February 2016 and early 2017, Oakeshott was the Daily Mail's political editor-at-large.[14][15] In 2019, she wrote a series of articles for The Mail on Sunday based on leaked diplomatic memos written by the British Ambassador to the United States Sir Kim Darroch, where he criticised the Trump administration.[16] The leak led to his resignation.[17]

In July 2019 The Guardian retracted claims implying that Oakeshott had obtained confidential files by sleeping with Nigel Farage and Aaron Banks. The text of an article by John Crace included the statement that Oakeshott only got confidential emails if Farage and Banks "slips it to her". Following the threat of legal action by Oakeshott, the text was amended to: "leave it conveniently tucked under her pillow". This second revision was then removed, with the final version stating: "if he or Arron Banks leave it conveniently to one side for her”. Oakeshott stated: “It gives me great pleasure to teach ⁦John Crace⁩ and the ⁦Guardian a little lesson about casually slurring women whose politics they dislike.”. It was also reported that the newspaper paid her a five figure sum in compensation.[18]

In May 2020, Oakeshott attended a garden party hosted by The Spectator magazine’s deputy editor, Freddy Gray, in the village of Seaview, along with Richard Tice, the Brexit party chairman, and the MP for the Isle Of Wight Bob Seely. The law at that time prohibited a person leaving or being outside where they were living without reasonable excuse. Amendments on 13 May 2020 did relax the law, including a reasonable excuse as being in a public open space for ‘open-air recreation’ with one member of another household. However, it did not include a private garden.[19]

Writing career

Oakeshott has written a number of non-fiction books. Inside Out, co-authored with, or ghostwritten for, Labour Party insider Peter Watt, is an inside look at New Labour.[20] Farmageddon: the true cost of cheap meat, co-authored with Philip Lymbery, investigates the effects of industrial-scale meat production.[21]

Call Me Dave, co-authored with Michael Ashcroft, is an unauthorised biography of former British prime minister David Cameron.[22] One of the details in the book – that Cameron, during his university days, allegedly performed a sex act involving a dead pig – caused a particular stir upon publication. However, the unsubstantiated story was dependent on hearsay,[23] and Oakeshott subsequently conceded her source could have been "deranged".[24]

The Bad Boys of Brexit is an inside account of the Leave.EU campaign during the run-up to the Brexit referendum, which she had ghostwritten for UKIP donor and Leave.EU funder Arron Banks.[25] Oakeshott is a supporter of Brexit.[26] She was in possession of details about Russia's cultivation and handling of Banks, that he was in regular contact with Russian officials from 2015 to 2017, but publicly downplayed Russian involvement with him.[27][28]

She co-authored with Ashcroft a book on the state of the British Armed Forces, White Flag? in 2018.[29]

Personal life

Oakeshott was married to Nigel Rosser.[30] They have three children.[31] In 2018, she separated from her husband and began a relationship with businessman and Brexit Party chairman Richard Tice.[32]

She is related to life peer Matthew Oakeshott[33] and to philosopher and political theorist, Michael Oakeshott.[34]

Bibliography
  • Watt, Peter (2010). Inside Out: My Story of Betrayal and Cowardice at the Heart of New Labour. Biteback Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84954-038-4.
  • Lymbery, Philip; Oakeshott, Isabel (2014). Farmageddon: The True Cost of Cheap Meat. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-4088-4644-5.
  • Ashcroft, Michael; Oakeshott, Isabel (2015). Call Me Dave. Biteback Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84954-914-1.
  • Ghostwriter of Banks, Arron (2016). The Bad Boys of Brexit. Biteback Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78590-182-9.
gollark: Maybe the determinant would have been more funnerer than multiplication. Oh well.
gollark: You are to multiply them for code guessing however.
gollark: I think jabu does typical mind fallacy.
gollark: Some may now be safe as this uses seemingly all available computational power.
gollark: I *am* compiling Rust code. NONE are safe.

References
  1. "Isabel Euphemia OAKESHOTT". Companies House. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  2. "Results for England & Wales Births 1837–2006". Findmypast.
  3. "Moray students have their say on Scottish independence". The Press and Journal. 14 September 2014.
  4. "Isabel Oakeshott (BA 1996)". Alumni and friends. Bristol University. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  5. "Isabel Oakeshott, Political Editor-at-Large, Daily Mail" (PDF). Media Masters. 14 April 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  6. "Axe grinder". Press Gazette. 15 December 2005.
  7. "Sunday Times hires new political editor". The Guardian. 17 January 2014.
  8. "Winners List". The Press Awards. 2011. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  9. "Isabel Oakeshott: Vicky Pryce double-crossed me". New Statesman. 10 March 2013.
  10. "Daily Politics and Sunday Politics highlights of 2014". BBC News. 6 January 2014.
  11. "Nigel Farage blames traffic jam for BBC Question Time no-show". The Independent. 5 February 2016.
  12. "Front Pages". Sky News. 16 March 2016.
  13. "Thursday's national newspaper front pages". Sky News. 24 May 2017.
  14. "Remainers are 'changing mind' about Brexit despite hit to ad industry". Campaign. 26 January 2017.
  15. "Isabel Oakeshott exits the Mail". The Spectator. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  16. Mason, Rowena; Walker, Peter (8 July 2019). "Theresa May has 'full faith' in Kim Darroch but rejects his view of Trump". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  17. "Sir Kim Darroch resigns: Letter in full". BBC News. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  18. Twitter, Freddy Mayhew (22 July 2019). "Guardian apologises to Isabel Oakeshott over 'fictitious' comment in cables leak sketch". Press Gazette.
  19. "Tory MP attended lockdown barbecue with journalists". the Guardian. 5 June 2020.
  20. "Inside Out by Peter Watt, with Isabel Oakeshott". The Guardian. 13 February 2010.
  21. "Farmageddon by Philip Lymbery with Isabel Oakeshott, review". The Daily Telegraph. 10 February 2014.
  22. "Journalist sparks disabled parking row". 20 February 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  23. "Call Me Dave by Michael Ashcroft and Isabel Oakeshott, review: 'winks and rumours'". The Daily Telegraph. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  24. "Call Me Dave author Isabel Oakshott reveals 'Piggate' claims could be false". The Huffington Post. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  25. "The bluster and blunder that birthed a new political era". New Statesman. 21 November 2016.
  26. "Journalists clash over Vote Leave spending story". BBC News. 25 March 2018.
  27. Hines, Nico (10 June 2018). "How a Journalist Kept Russia's Secret Links to Brexit Under Wraps". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  28. Waterson, Jim (11 June 2018). "Profile: Isabel Oakeshott and The Bad Boys of Brexit". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  29. Marozzi, Justin (7 October 2018). "Review: White Flag? An Examination of the UK's Defence Capability by Michael Ashcroft and Isabel Oakeshott — a sit-up-and-listen investigation". The Sunday Times.
  30. "The Londoner: Thatcher portrait left without home". London Evening Standard. 18 June 2018.
  31. "Isabel Oakeshott". isabeloakeshott.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  32. Gilligan, Andrew; Shipman, Tim (14 July 2019). "Trump leak scandal engulfs Brexit Party". The Sunday Times.
  33. "Chris Huhne: A family affair". BBC News. 16 May 2011.
  34. "@IsabelOakeshott". 2 October 2016.
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