Julia Hartley-Brewer

Julia Hartley-Brewer is a British radio presenter, political journalist and newspaper columnist. She hosts the weekday breakfast radio show on Talkradio.

Julia Hartley-Brewer
Born
Birmingham, England
EducationMagdalen College, Oxford
Cardiff University
Occupation(s)Radio presenter, journalist, columnist
Years active1990s–present
Spouse
Rob Walton
​
(m. 2006)​
[1][2]
Children1

Early life

Julia Hartley-Brewer's father, Michael John Hartley-Brewer, stood unsuccessfully as the Labour Party candidate in Selly Oak in the 1970 general election. Her mother was a general practitioner.[3][4]

Hartley-Brewer was educated at Oldfield Girls' Comprehensive School in Bath, living with her mother, Valery Forbes Hartley-Brewer, and step-father, Michael Glenny. Later, Hartley-Brewer studied at Woodhouse Sixth Form College in Finchley, north London. She gained a degree in philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) at Magdalen College, Oxford.[5][6][7] She later studied for a diploma in journalism at Cardiff University's School of Journalism.

Career

Hartley-Brewer began her career in journalism at the East London Advertiser in Bethnal Green, east London.[8] Later, she was employed as a news reporter and political correspondent for the London Evening Standard and then joined The Guardian, staying at the latter until September 2000.[9] She then moved to the Sunday Express as political correspondent, then political editor from 2001 until 2007 and then Assistant Editor (Politics), writing a weekly opinion column. She left the Sunday Express in February 2011.

In 2006, she presented and narrated two political documentaries for the television channels BBC Two and BBC Four about the history of British Deputy Prime Ministers, called Every Prime Minister Needs a Willie, and the history of the Leader of the Opposition in The Worst Job in Politics.[10]

She was an LBC presenter from February 2011, until she left in December 2014 to be replaced by Shelagh Fogarty.[11]

Hartley-Brewer now broadcasts on Talkradio, a talk radio station owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. She presented the mid-morning weekday show from March 2016 until 15 January 2018, when she moved to host the weekday breakfast show from 6.30am to 10am.[12] In September 2019, The Julia Hartley-Brewer Show was launched on YouTube under the Talkradio brand; each programme is a one-to-one interview with a guest. The show became a daily simulcast as part of the daily schedule of TalkTV that began broadcasting in April 2022.

She has written opinion articles and columns for publications such as The Daily Telegraph,[13] The Mail on Sunday and The Spectator about politics and current affairs.

Public appearances

She has appeared as a panellist on the comedy quiz show Have I Got News for You ten times, as well as being a regular panellist on BBC One's Question Time[8] and Radio 4's Any Questions. She is a regular pundit and commentator on TV and radio, including for Sky News, the BBC News Channel, BBC One's The One Show, ITV's Tonight show, Lorraine on ITV, This Morning on ITV, The Agenda on ITV, Sunday Politics on BBC1, BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 4's Today and PM programmes. She was a contestant on Pointless Celebrities in October 2014, winning the prize for her chosen charity.[14]

Other

In June 2016, Hartley-Brewer said Owen Jones had "more in common with ISIS than he thinks" on Sky News after Jones walked out of an interview on the news channel following host Mark Longhurst's refusal to refer to the Orlando nightclub shooting as an assault on LGBT people. Hartley-Brewer also said, "neither the Sky presenter Mark Longhurst nor I said anything that was offensive, wrong or bigoted in any way" and that she would not apologise and criticised Sky News for apologising to Jones. By lunchtime of the following day of the interview and the comments by Hartley-Brewer, Ofcom had received almost 60 complaints about the programme saying both Hartley-Brewer and Longhurst were dismissive of Jones’s argument that the attack was one on the LGBT community.[13]

In October 2017, Hartley-Brewer alleged that the then Defence Secretary, Sir Michael Fallon, had repeatedly touched her knee throughout a dinner in 2002; the allegation contributed to his eventual resignation.[15][16]

On 12 August 2018, she sent a tweet containing a photo of the aftermath of the 1998 Omagh bombing with text saying that Jeremy Corbyn had paid tribute to the victims of the bombing, "including the Real IRA bombers who may have snagged a nail while planting the explosives".[17][18] The tweet was criticised as insensitive by Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan was killed by the bomb.[17][18] He said that while he wouldn't have "much faith" in Corbyn, her tweet was "poorly timed".[17][18] Writer Lisa McGee criticised the use of the photo of the aftermath.[17][18] Hartley-Brewer was also criticised by journalist David Blevins.[17][18] She defended her tweet as satire.[17][18]

In late 2019, Jolyon Maugham accused Hartley-Brewer of revealing his home address at a time when he was receiving death threats.[19] Hartley-Brewer defended herself by saying Maugham's address was already easily available online and that he had previously revealed it himself in published interviews.[19]

On 28 December 2022, Hartley-Brewer caused controversy when referencing environmental activist Greta Thunberg's autism in a tweet, following Thunberg's criticism of internet personality Andrew Tate. The tweet was posted again without mentioning autism.[20] Hartley-Brewer also stated in both the original and re-posted tweet that she would "choose Andrew Tate's life *every single time*" over Thunberg's.[21] She was widely ridiculed when, a day after the tweet, Tate was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group.[22][23]

Views

Hartley-Brewer was a long-standing supporter of Brexit during the campaign in 2016.[24] On 29 March 2019, Hartley-Brewer spoke at the Leave Means Leave rally in Parliament Square, London.[25]

She has declared that she is an atheist.[26] In 2010, she described herself as a "staunch and long-standing republican".[27] She is an honorary associate of the National Secular Society.[28]

In September 2014 discussing the climate crisis, Hartley-Brewer tweeted: "I am not a flat earther. If there were any evidence that man is affecting climate change, I would accept that fact. There isn't."[29] She has stated that there is no scientific foundation for claims of imminent climate catastrophe, claiming that those who believe that there is one are "part of a doomsday cult," and calling Extinction Rebellion "a sort of quasi-religious death cult." She has also stated that climate models "so far have failed to predict anything correctly" and that the science of climate change is "an as-yet unproven theory" and therefore open to challenge, "which is standard practice in science."[30] As a guest on the BBC's Question Time in November 2022, Hartley-Brewer dismissed the climate crisis as 'weather' [31]

At the Oxford University PPE Society on 20 November 2018, Hartley-Brewer gave a talk on "Political Correctness and Free Speech", in which she argued that political correctness damaged the ability to freely express political views.[32]

Hartley-Brewer has been referred to as "right-wing" by Nick Duffy writing for PinkNews. Duffy reported that Hartley-Brewer threatened to remove a guest from the radio studio where she works as a presenter (for Talkradio) on 30 November 2018 during a discussion on trans rights because the guest used the term "cis." Hartley-Brewer said on the radio show that it was a "very big risk" for women to be "kept in cells alongside people who are biologically men" and that "if you are physically intact as a man, you are not in a woman's prison, end of. Nothing to discuss." Guest Steve Allen responded, "if you are in a woman's prison, you should be safe from being physically attacked, by a cis or a trans woman. Everyone should be safe in prison." Hartley-Brewer responded by saying, "you're not allowed to come on my show and say a cis or a trans woman. A woman or a trans woman. I'm not a cis woman… we are women. We are biologically women. I'm not going to have that BBC claptrap on my show." When Allen offered to use the term "non-trans women" she said, "if you say that, I'm going to ask you to leave my studio. I'm absolutely serious. I'm not having it."[33] A later article in 2021 for PinkNews by Lily Wakefield referred to Hartley-Brewer as having "openly voiced her anti-trans views" in reference to the article by Duffy.[34]

The Royal College of General Practitioners invited her to speak in an "NHS Question Time" panel debate at its annual conference in 2019 but withdrew the invitation after over 700 GPs signed a petition complaining that her views were not conducive to the work they were doing to promote inclusivity within the profession and among patients.[35] One of such views involved a deleted tweet from 2016, in which Hartley-Brewer said "Powell wasn't a racist". On Enoch Powell, she said "I'm not defending Powell, I just don't see anything in the Rivers speech that he got wrong.".[36]

In April 2021, Ofcom received over 200 complaints accusing Hartley-Brewer of trivialising racism following a TV appearance in which Hartley-Brewer commented on a family portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip taken 2018, posing with seven of their great-grandchildren, saying 'I wonder if Meghan [Markle] has managed to take offence to this photograph that doesn't include her son. Well she probably thinks it's a racist photograph, taken before her son was even conceived' (Archie, the son of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry was born in 2019). She added. 'I'm sure she's managed to take offence at it anyway.'[37]

Personal life

Hartley-Brewer is married with one daughter, born in 2006.[38]

References
  1. Hartley-Brewer, Julia (25 May 2008). "Is darts hitting the bullseye with British women?; Forget Ascot and Wimbledon - the only sporting event to be seen at now is Premier League Darts". Sunday Express. No. UK 1st Edition. London. p. 36.
  2. Hartley-Brewer, Julia (25 November 2007). "Too late George, I'm wed". Sunday Express. No. UK 1st Edition. London. p. 29.
  3. "Julia Hartley-Brewer on Twitter: "This #FBPE Remoaner "citizen of the world" says he "hopes" my 76yr old mum is "dead already". My mum put herself through medical school, while divorced with 2 young kids. & spent 40yrs working as an NHS GP. She is very much alive and well. Oh, and she voted for Brexit". 27 December 2020. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020.
  4. "GMC - Doctor: Valerie Forbes Hartley-Brewer". General Medical Council. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  5. "I happen to have 3 grade A A-levels (from non-selective state schools, before you ask), a 2:1 from Oxford University". Twitter. 12 December 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  6. "Women's Networking Dinner June 2014". Magdalen College Oxford. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  7. http://www.magd.ox.ac.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Floreat-2011.pdf Archived 24 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Julia Hartley-Brewer". JLA. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  9. Julia Hartley-Brewer contributor page, The Guardian website
  10. "The Worst Job In British Politics? The Leader of the Opposition". BBC programmes index. BBC. 11 July 2007. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  11. Plunkett, John (22 December 2014). "LBC signs up Shelagh Fogarty to present weekday afternoon news show". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  12. "Welcome Holmes: Eamonn Holmes joins all-new talkRADIO". 12 January 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  13. Oppenheim, Maya (14 June 2016). "Julia Hartley-Brewer refuses to apologise to Owen Jones and compares him to Isis". The Independent. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  14. "International Babyloss Awareness Day 2016". Miscarriage Association. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  15. "Newspaper headlines: Fallon 'first scalp' of Commons scandal". BBC News. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  16. Doward, Jamie (4 November 2017). "Revealed: why Michael Fallon was forced to quit as defence secretary". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  17. Halliday, Gillian (14 August 2018). "Omagh bomb victim's dad hits out at broadcaster Hartley-Brewer's 'insensitive' tweet". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  18. "Indefensible: Omagh bomb Corbyn joke tweet sparks backlash". Belfast Telegraph. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  19. Bond, Kimberley (10 October 2019). "Julia Hartley-Brewer to feature on Question Time despite boycott". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  20. "Julia Hartley-Brewer accused of using 'autistic' as insult in Greta Thunberg attack". The Independent. London. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  21. "Julia Hartley-Brewer asked if she'd still choose Andrew Tate's life over Greta Thunberg's | indy100". www.indy100.com. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  22. "Julia Harley-Brewer taunted for poorly aged tweet about Andrew Tate". The Independent. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  23. "Who is Andrew Tate and why was he arrested?". LBC. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  24. Hartley-Brewer, Julia (22 June 2016). "You don't need to trust politicians to vote for Brexit. Just trust yourself". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  25. "Thousands of pro-Brexit protesters descend on Parliament". Evening Standard. London. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  26. BBC Radio 4: Any Questions 28 July 2017.
  27. Hartley-Brewer, Julia (21 November 2010). "Royal Wedding: Here's a king in all senses of that word". Daily Express. London. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  28. "Honorary Associates". National Secular Society. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  29. @JuliaHB1 (22 September 2014). "@Shyman33 I am not a flat earther. If there were any evidence that man is affecting climate change, I would accept that fact. There isn't" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  30. Derler, Zak. "Julia Hartley-Brewer". DeSmog. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  31. BBC Question Time discusses Just Stop Oil's Latest Protests, 27 October 2022, retrieved 12 November 2022
  32. "Julia Hartley-Brewer: Political Correctness and Free Speech". Oxford Talks. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  33. Duffy, Nick (3 December 2018). "Julia Hartley-Brewer bans the word 'cis' on TalkRadio show". PinkNews. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  34. Wakefield, Lily (30 September 2021). "Tories swiftly condemned for hosting anti-trans pressure group LGB Alliance at party conference". PinkNews. London. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  35. "RCGP drops Julia Hartley-Brewer from annual conference programme". GP Online. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  36. "Journalist 'no-platformed' by GPs over Enoch Powell tweet". BBC News. 1 June 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  37. "This Morning Guest Julia Hartley-Brewer's Meghan Markle Comments Spark Ofcom Complaints". HuffPost UK. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  38. Hartley-Brewer, Julia (11 November 2007). "What sort of women date these racists?". Sunday Express. London.
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