The BBC’s Jo Coburn is one of the presenters of the Daily Politics. This experienced London based political sage has some 7,000 followers on Twitter and was educated at the University of Manchester and the University of Oxford. She began her career in community radio and hopes to end it as “a foreign correspondent either in Jerusalem or Berlin”.
Oxford educated Kate Williams is an expert on royal history. A television presenter and author, Williams has over 10,000 followers on Twitter and has been described as “an outstanding talent” by Matthew D’Ancona. She is based in London and her works include The Pleasures of Men, Becoming Queen and England’s Mistress.
This Irish writer, journalist and presenter describes herself as having “fought ageism at the BBC and won”. Miriam O’Reilly is best known as a BBC Countryfile presenter but successfully sued the Corporation after being dropped in 2009. She subsequently returned to front the Crimewatch Roadshow with Rav Wilding before attempting and failing to become a Labour Party candidate for first Nuneaton in 2013 and then Heywood and Middleton in 2014. Closely linked to Labour’s Harriet Harman, those that take O’Reilly on should be warned that she’ll likely take to Twitter to exact her revenge.
This former Scottish Television cameraman and his ex-nurse wife won £161 million on the EuroMillions lottery in 2011 and “believe that things do happen for a reason, and that with great wealth comes great responsibilities”. Chris and Colin Weir set up a foundation, the Weir Charitable Trust, to support small, local charities and as SNP backers had funded 79% of the ‘Yes’ campaign for independence with a £3.5 million donation as of May 2014. Despite claiming they’d live humbly, they put a tiny dent in their fortune by buying Frognal House, a £3.5 million “dream mansion” in Troon after viewing it for 10 minutes. If Scotland does ever become independent, Alex Salmond should reward this larger than life couple by making them King and Queen.
This twice kidnapped “man of courage and dignity” was a “miner of truth” who bravely reported from war zones. Photojournalist James Foley was born in Rochester, New Hampshire and killed by a cowardly hooded ISIS executioner in Syria. As his friend and fellow Libyan hostage Nicholas Hénin commented: “He stayed upright and dignified to the end”.
Larger than life Camila Batmanghelidjh was born in Tehran and was once described as “Britain’s most colourful charity leader”. (more…)
This acid tongued Australian harpy was the press secretary to William Hague when he was leader of the Conservative Party. She’s now reverted to journalism and after leaping to the defence of her “dear friend” Rolf Harris declared “Cliff Richard doesn’t deserve this lurid trial by television” in August 2014. Amanda Platell “ran out of sympathy” for the Duchess of Cambridge earlier in the year and declared “the real gay marriage bigots are its intolerant supporters”. Twitter trolls have been called “evil by her”. Why then does she herself write such hateful bile?
This busybody Baroness served as co-chair of the Conservative Party and then as Foreign Office minister until resigning in August 2014 over her differences with HM Government’s policy over the Israel-Gaza conflict. The first Muslim to attend Cabinet, Warsi had to admit she was “on the wrong side of history” on gay rights in 2013, declared that people who back the British National Party “have some legitimate views” and considers the French ban on burkas offensive. Baroness Warsi describes herself as a “Northern working-class mum” but many colleagues criticise her as “bitchy”. She is in fact little more than a true example of a media mouthpiece.
At just 27, this this Winchester, Massachusetts born, die-hard Democrat became the second youngest ever head presidential speechwriter ever (more…)
“Who the f*ck is Matt Forde?” – allegedly the words of Noel Gallagher – are the first thing one encounters on accessing the website of this comedian and one time political advisor to the Labour Party. Nottingham born and the son of a former nun, Forde’s Twitter handles reads: “A talentless liar, a shameless sycophantic sell-out with a jelly spine and a mush mind”. As well as presenting a show named The Political Party with Matt Forde, this TalkSport late-night host welcomes abuse but “just give it [to him] on Twitter and make it brief”. Undoubtedly one of Tony Blair’s biggest apologists, Matt Forde described his favourite former Prime Minister as: “The best Labour leader and the best Prime Minister in history” in 2014. Churchill and Thatcher plainly passed this “hypocritical new Labour Adolf Blair-loving hippy scumbag” by.