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Julia Hartley-Brewer

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Julia Hartley-Brewer
Born (1968-05-02) 2 May 1968 (age 58)
Birmingham, England
EducationMagdalen College, Oxford
Cardiff University
OccupationsRadio presenter, journalist, columnist
Years active1990s–present
Spouse
Rob Walton
​
(m. 2006)​
Children1

Julia Hartley-Brewer (born 2 May 1968[citation needed]) is an English political journalist, newspaper columnist and radio presenter. She hosts the mid-morning show on Talk called Talk. Nation.

Early life and education

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Hartley-Brewer is the daughter of Michael Hartley-Brewer, who stood as the Labour Party's candidate in Selly Oak in the 1970 general election and Dudley West in the 1979 general election, and Valerie Forbes Hartley-Brewer.[1] Her parents divorced, and her mother trained as a general practitioner while bringing up two children.[2]

Hartley-Brewer was educated at Oldfield School (formerly Oldfield Girl's School)[3] in Bath and Woodhouse College in Finchley, North London. She gained a degree in philosophy, politics and economics at Magdalen College, Oxford[4][5] in 1988.[6]

Career

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Hartley-Brewer began her career in journalism at the East London Advertiser in Bethnal Green, east London.[7] Later, she was a news reporter and political correspondent for the London Evening Standard and then joined The Guardian, staying until September 2000.[8] She moved to the Sunday Express as political correspondent, becoming political editor from 2001 until 2007[citation needed] and then assistant editor (politics).[5]

In 2006, she presented and narrated two political documentaries for BBC Two and BBC Four television 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.[9]

She was an LBC presenter from February 2011, until she left in December 2014 to be replaced by Shelagh Fogarty.[10]

Hartley-Brewer broadcast on Talkradio, a 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.[11]

She has written opinion articles and columns for The Daily Telegraph.[12]

Broadcast guest appearances

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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.[7]

She was a contestant on Pointless Celebrities in October 2014, winning the prize for her chosen charity.[13]

Views

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Hartley-Brewer was a long-standing supporter of Brexit during the campaign in 2016.[14] In March 2019, Hartley-Brewer spoke at the Leave Means Leave rally in Parliament Square, London.[15]

She is an atheist[16] and an honorary associate of the National Secular Society.[17] In 2015, after Pope Francis issued the encyclical Laudato si', calling for 'swift and unified global action' on environmental degradation and global warming, Hartley-Brewer wrote in The Daily Telegraph stating: "What the head of an anti-science body like the Catholic Church says about climate change is about as relevant as Kim Kardashian on the eurozone."[18]

At the Oxford University PPE Society in 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.[19] Hartley-Brewer is on the advisory council of the Free Speech Union.[20]

Hartley-Brewer has been referred to as "right-wing" by Nick Duffy writing for PinkNews. Duffy reported that on 30 November 2018 Hartley-Brewer threatened to remove a guest from the Talkradio studio during a discussion on trans issues because the guest used the term "cis."[21] An article in 2021 referred to Hartley-Brewer as having "openly voiced her anti-trans views" in reference to the article by Duffy.[22]

The Royal College of General Practitioners invited her to speak in an "NHS Question Time" debate in 2019 but withdrew the invitation after 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.[23] One of such views involved a deleted Tweet from 2016, in which Hartley-Brewer said "Powell wasn't a racist". She said "I'm not defending Powell, I just don't see anything in the Rivers speech that he got wrong."[24]

In December 2022, Hartley-Brewer referred in a tweet to environmental activist Greta Thunberg's autism, following Thunberg's criticism of internet personality Andrew Tate. The tweet was reposted without mentioning autism.[25] Hartley-Brewer stated in the original and re-posted tweet that she would "choose Andrew Tate's life *every single time*" over Thunberg's.[26] This was mocked online when, a day after the tweet, Tate was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and forming an organised crime group.[27][28]

Incidents

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In 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.[29][30]

In 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 it following host Mark Longhurst's refusal to refer to the Orlando nightclub shooting as an assault on LGBT people. Hartley-Brewer 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 to Jones. By the following day, Ofcom had received 60 complaints from viewers who said Hartley-Brewer and Longhurst were dismissive of Jones's argument.[12]

In 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".[31][32] The tweet was criticised as insensitive by Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan was killed.[31][32] He said her tweet was "poorly timed".[31][32] Writer Lisa McGee and journalist David Blevins criticised the use of the photo.[31][32] She defended her tweet as satire.[31][32]

In October 2019, Jolyon Maugham accused Hartley-Brewer of revealing his home address at a time when he was receiving death threats.[33] Hartley-Brewer defended herself by saying Maugham's address was already easily available online and that he had previously revealed it in published interviews.[33]

In April 2021, Ofcom received over 200 complaints accusing Hartley-Brewer of trivialising racism following a TV appearance on This Morning in which Hartley-Brewer commented on a family portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip taken in 2018, posing with seven of their great-grandchildren, saying: "I wonder if Meghan 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". Prince Archie, the son of Meghan and Prince Harry, was born in 2019.[34][needs update]

In 2024, during an interview with Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian politician, Hartley was accused of shouting over the top of her guest and repeatedly interrupting Barghouti. She stated, "Maybe you're not used to women talking, I don't know, but I'd like to finish the sentence!"[35] In response, Ofcom received 17,366 complaints about Hartley's conduct, making it the most complained-about UK programme in 2024.[36]

On 14 April 2024, in the wake of the Bondi Junction stabbings in Sydney, before the suspect had been identified, Hartley-Brewer tweeted "Another day. Another terror attack by another Islamic terrorist". The press condemned this and other misinformation that had been spread about the attacker, and she deleted it after it had been viewed more than nine million times. The perpetrator, Joel Cauchi, was not Muslim.[37][38][39]

Personal life

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Hartley-Brewer married Rob Walton in 2006. They have one daughter.[40]

References

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  1. ↑ "GMC - Doctor: Valerie Forbes Hartley-Brewer". General Medical Council. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  2. ↑ "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 40 years 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.
  3. ↑ Hartley-Brewer, Julia. "Julia Hartley-Brewer". Facebook. Facebook. Retrieved 28 September 2026.
  4. ↑ "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.
  5. 1 2 "Women's Networking Dinner June 2014". Magdalen College Oxford. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  6. ↑ "Politics Panel" (PDF). Floreat Magdalena: The Magazine for Magdalen Members (10): 11. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 April 2016. The large panel required a capable chair, and we were lucky enough to have Julia Hartley-Brewer (1988), columnist and Assistant editor (Politics) of the Sunday Express, to keep order with an iron fist in a velvet glove
  7. 1 2 "Julia Hartley-Brewer". JLA. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  8. ↑ Julia Hartley-Brewer contributor page, The Guardian website
  9. ↑ "The Worst Job In British Politics? The Leader of the Opposition". BBC programmes index. BBC. 11 July 2007. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  10. ↑ Plunkett, John (22 December 2014). "LBC signs up Shelagh Fogarty to present weekday afternoon news show". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  11. ↑ Platt, Gareth (12 January 2018). "Welcome Holmes: Eamonn Holmes joins all-new talkRADIO". TalkRadio. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  12. 1 2 Oppenheim, Maya (14 June 2016). "Julia Hartley-Brewer refuses to apologise to Owen Jones and compares him to Isis". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  13. ↑ Brown, Nancy (5 October 2021). "Julia Hartley-Brewer: This Morning star's career and controversies". Entertainment Daily. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  14. ↑ 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.
  15. ↑ "Thousands of pro-Brexit protesters descend on Parliament". Evening Standard. London. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  16. ↑ BBC Radio 4: Any Questions
  17. ↑ "Honorary Associates". National Secular Society. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  18. ↑ Brewer, Julia Hartley (18 June 2015). "If we need the Pope to teach us about science, then God help us all". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  19. ↑ "Julia Hartley-Brewer: Political Correctness and Free Speech". Oxford Talks. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  20. ↑ "About Us". Free Speech Union. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  21. ↑ Duffy, Nick (3 December 2018). "Julia Hartley-Brewer bans the word 'cis' on TalkRadio show". PinkNews. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  22. ↑ 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.
  23. ↑ "RCGP drops Julia Hartley-Brewer from annual conference programme". GP Online. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  24. ↑ "Journalist 'no-platformed' by GPs over Enoch Powell tweet". BBC News. 1 June 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  25. ↑ "Julia Hartley-Brewer accused of using 'autistic' as insult in Greta Thunberg attack". The Independent. London. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  26. ↑ "Julia Hartley-Brewer asked if she'd still choose Andrew Tate's life over Greta Thunberg's". www.indy100.com. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  27. ↑ "Julia Harley-Brewer taunted for poorly aged tweet about Andrew Tate". The Independent. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  28. ↑ "Who is Andrew Tate and why was he arrested?". LBC. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  29. ↑ "Newspaper headlines: Fallon 'first scalp' of Commons scandal". BBC News. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  30. ↑ Doward, Jamie (4 November 2017). "Revealed: why Michael Fallon was forced to quit as defence secretary". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 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.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 "Indefensible: Omagh bomb Corbyn joke tweet sparks backlash". Belfast Telegraph. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  33. 1 2 Bond, Kimberley (10 October 2019). "Julia Hartley-Brewer to feature on Question Time despite boycott". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  34. ↑ "This Morning Guest Julia Hartley-Brewer's Meghan Markle Comments Spark Ofcom Complaints". HuffPost UK. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  35. ↑ Archer, Katie (10 January 2024). "Julia Hartley-Brewer sparks 15,000 complaints over TalkTV interview". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on 8 April 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  36. ↑ Butt, Maria (26 December 2024). "Ofcom reveals 2024's most complained about TV controversies". The Independent. Archived from the original on 31 December 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  37. ↑ Nguyen, Kevin; Workman, Michael (15 April 2024). "Benjamin Cohen was falsely accused of the Bondi Junction stabbings. Here's how the lie spread around the world". ABC News. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  38. ↑ Molloy, Shannon (15 April 2024). "The social media figures who spread Westfield Bondi massacre misinformation". news.com.au. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  39. ↑ Bogle, Ariel (14 April 2024). "False claims started spreading about the Bondi Junction stabbing attack as soon as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  40. ↑ Brown, Nancy (5 October 2021). "Julia Hartley-Brewer: This Morning star's career and controversies". Entertainment Daily. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
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