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Andrew Ferguson Neil (born 21 May 1949) is a Scottish former journalist and broadcaster who is chairman of ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' and presenter of '' The Andrew Neil Show'' on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. He was editor of ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' from 1983 to 1994. He formerly presented

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

political programmes and was chairman of

GB News GB News is a British free-to-air television and radio news channel. The channel is available on Freeview, Freesat, Sky, YouView, Virgin Media and via the internet. Since 4 January 2022, an audio simulcast of the station is available on DAB+ ...

. Born in Paisley,

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

, Neil attended

Paisley Grammar School Paisley Grammar School is a secondary school in Paisley, the largest town in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The school was founded in 1576 by royal charter of King James VI and is situated on Glasgow Road. The school is recognised as one of Scotland's ...

, before studying at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. He entered journalism in 1973 as a correspondent for ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

''. Neil was appointed editor of ''The Sunday Times'' by

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

in 1983, and held this position until 1994. After this, he became a contributor to the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

''. He was formerly chief executive and editor-in-chief of Press Holdings Media Group. In 1988, he became founding chairman of Sky TV, also part of Murdoch's

News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...

. He worked for the BBC for 25 years until 2020, fronting various programmes, including ''

Sunday Politics ''Daily Politics'' was a BBC Television programme which aired between 6 January, 2003 and 24 July, 2018, presented by Andrew Neil and Jo Coburn. ''Daily Politics'' took an in-depth review of the daily events in both Westminster and other areas a ...

'' and '' This Week'' on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

and ''

Daily Politics ''Daily Politics'' was a BBC Television programme which aired between 6 January, 2003 and 24 July, 2018, presented by Andrew Neil and Jo Coburn. ''Daily Politics'' took an in-depth review of the daily events in both Westminster and other areas ...

'', ''

Politics Live ''Politics Live'' is a BBC News political programme which launched on 3 September 2018. It is presented by Jo Coburn and features at least four guests debating the political stories of the day, as well as reports and other content. It is broadca ...

'' and '' The Andrew Neil Show'' on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

. Since 2008 he has been chairman of Press Holdings, whose titles include ''The Spectator'', and

ITP Media Group ITP Media Group is a global media company founded in 1987. Its headquarters are in Dubai, and has offices in Abu Dhabi (the capital of the UAE), Saudi Arabia, India, the United Kingdom, Germany and the USA. ITP has over 60 media brands that ...

. Following his departure from the BBC, he became founding chairman of GB News and a presenter on the channel, but resigned amid controversy in September 2021. He later joined Channel 4 in 2022 as presenter of ''The Andrew Neil Show'', which shares the same name as his former BBC Two programme.

Early life

Neil was born on 21 May 1949 in

Paisley, Renfrewshire Paisley ( ; sco, Paisley, gd, Pàislig ) is a large town situated in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Located north of the Gleniffer Braes, the town borders the city of Glasgow to the east, and straddles the banks of the White Cart Wate ...

, to Mary and James Neil. His mother worked in cotton mills during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and his father ran the wartime Cairo fire brigade, worked as an electrician and was a major in the Territorial Army in Renfrewshire. He grew up in the Glenburn area and attended the local Lancraigs Primary School. At 11, Neil passed the qualifying examination and obtained entrance to the selective

. After school, Neil attended the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, where he edited the student newspaper, the ''

Glasgow University Guardian ''The Glasgow Guardian'' is the student newspaper of the University of Glasgow. Founded in 1932 as ''The Gilmorehill Globe'', the newspaper has undergone four name changes in its existence. First changed to ''The Gilmorehill Guardian'', then t ...

'', and dabbled in student television. He was a member of the

Dialectic Society Dialectic ( grc-gre, διαλεκτική, ''dialektikḗ''; related to dialogue; german: Dialektik), also known as the dialectical method, is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing ...

and the Conservative Club, and participated in

Glasgow University Union Glasgow University Union (GUU) is one of the largest and oldest students' unions in the UK, serving students and alumni of the University of Glasgow since 1885. The GUU organises social affairs for its members, provides catering and entertainm ...

inter-varsity debates. In 1971, he was chairman of the

Federation of Conservative Students The Federation of Conservative Students (FCS) was the student organisation of the British Conservative Party from the late 1940s to 1986. It was created to act as a bridge between the student movement and the Conservative Party. It produced sever ...

. He graduated in 1971, with an MA with honours in political economy and political science. He had been tutored by

Vince Cable Sir John Vincent Cable (born 9 May 1943) is a British politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2017 to 2019. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Twickenham from 1997 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2019. He also served in the Cabinet as ...

and had a focus on

American history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densely ...

Press career

After his graduation, Neil briefly worked as a sports correspondent for a local newspaper, the ''

Paisley Daily Express The ''Paisley Daily Express'' is a Scottish newspaper based in Glasgow, covering the Renfrewshire area. The paper, which is currently owned by Reach plc has its main offices in Glasgow. The paper is sold in newsagents and general stores throu ...

'', before working for the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. In 1973, he joined ''

'' as a correspondent and was later promoted as editor of the publication's section on Britain.

''The Sunday Times''

Neil was editor of ''

'' from 1983 to 1994. His hiring was controversial: it was argued he was appointed by

over more experienced colleagues, such as

Hugo Young Hugo John Smelter Young (13 October 1938 – 22 September 2003) was a British journalist and columnist and senior political commentator at ''The Guardian''. Early life and education Born in Sheffield into an old recusant Roman Catholic family, h ...

and

Brian MacArthur Brian MacArthur (5 February 1940 – 24 March 2019) was a British newspaper editor. Early life MacArthur studied at Brentwood School, Helsby Grammar School and the University of Leeds. Career In 1962, he entered journalism, his first job bein ...

. Neil told Murdoch before he was appointed editor that ''The Sunday Times'' was intellectually stuck in a 1960s time warp and that it needed to "shake off its collectivist mind-set to become the champion of a market-led revolution that would shake the British

Establishment Establishment may refer to: * The Establishment, a dominant group or elite that controls a polity or an organization * The Establishment (club), a 1960s club in London, England * The Establishment (Pakistan), political terminology for the military ...

to its bones and transform the economy and society".Andrew Neil, ''Full Disclosure'' (London: Pan, 1997), p. 32. Neil later claimed that although he shared some of Murdoch's right-wing views, "on many matters Rupert was well to the right of me politically. He was a monetarist. I was not. Nor did I share his conservative social outlook". In his first editorial, on 9 October 1983, Neil advised

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

's government to "move to the right on industrial policy (trust-bust, deregulate, privatise wherever it produces more competition and efficiency) and centre-left in economic strategy (a few billion extra in capital spending would have little impact on interest rates or inflation but could give a lift to a shaky economic recovery)". ''The Sunday Times'' strongly supported the stationing of American

cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...

s in bases in Britain after the Soviet Union installed SS-20s in Eastern Europe, and it criticised the resurgent

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuc ...

. Neil also wrote editorials supporting the

United States invasion of Grenada The United States invasion of Grenada began at dawn on 25 October 1983. The United States and a coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, ...

because it would restore democracy there, despite opposition from Hugo Young. Neil replied to Young that he wanted the editorial stance of ''The Sunday Times'' to be "neo-Keynesian in economic policy, radical right in industrial policy, liberal on social matters and European and

Atlanticist Atlanticism, also known as Transatlanticism, is the belief in or support for a close relationship between the peoples and governments in Northern America (the United States and Canada) and those in Europe (the countries of the European Union, the ...

on foreign policy". In Neil's first year as the paper's editor, ''The Sunday Times'' had revealed the date of the deployment of cruise missiles, exposed how

Mark Thatcher Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Baronet (born 15 August 1953) is an English businessman. He is the son of Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, and Sir Denis Thatcher; his sister is Carol Thatcher. His early career ...

had channelled the gains from his consultancy business into a bank account and reported on

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...

's atrocities in

Matabeleland Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi r ...

. Neil also printed extracts from

Germaine Greer Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the radical feminist movement in the latter half of the 20th century. Specializing in English and women's literat ...

's ''Sex and Destiny'' and from

Francis Pym Francis Leslie Pym, Baron Pym, (13 February 1922 – 7 March 2008) was a British Conservative Party politician who served in various Cabinet positions in the 1970s and 1980s, including Foreign, Defence and Northern Ireland Secretary, and Leader ...

's anti-Thatcher autobiography, as well as a study of the "Patels of Britain", a celebration of the success of Britain's Asian community. Neil regards the newspaper's revelation of details of Israel's nuclear weapons programme in 1986, by using photographs and testimony from former Israeli nuclear technician

Mordechai Vanunu Mordechai Vanunu ( he, מרדכי ואנונו; born 14 October 1952), also known as John Crossman, is an Israeli former nuclear technician and peace activist who, citing his opposition to weapons of mass destruction, revealed details of Israe ...

, as his greatest scoop as an editor. During his editorship, the newspaper lost a libel case over claims that it had made concerning a witness, Carmen Proetta, who was interviewed after her appearance in the ''

Death on the Rock "Death on the Rock" was a British television documentary, part of Thames Television's current affairs series '' This Week''. It was broadcast in 1988. The programme examined the deaths of three Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) members in ...

'' documentary on the Gibraltar shootings. One of ''The Sunday Times'' journalists involved, Rosie Waterhouse, resigned not long afterwards. On 20 July 1986, ''The Sunday Times'' printed a front-page article (titled 'Queen dismayed by "uncaring" Thatcher') alleging that the Queen believed that

's policies were "uncaring, confrontational and socially divisive". The main source of information was the Queen's press secretary, Michael Shea.Moore, ''Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography. Volume Two'', p. 576. When Buckingham Palace issued a statement rebutting the story, Neil was so angry at what he considered to be the Palace's double-dealing that he refused to print the statement in later editions of ''The Sunday Times''. In 1987, the Labour-controlled

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government et ...

Regional Authority wanted to close down Neil's old school, Paisley Grammar School. After finding the secretary of state for Scotland,

Malcolm Rifkind Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind (born 21 June 1946) is a British politician who served in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1986 to 1997, and most recently as chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament from ...

, indifferent to the school's future, Neil contacted Margaret Thatcher's policy adviser, Brian Griffiths, to try and save the school. When Griffiths informed Thatcher of Strathclyde's plan to close it she issued a new regulation that gave the Scottish secretary the power to save schools where 80 per cent of the parents were opposed to the local authority's closure plan, thereby saving Paisley Grammar. While at ''The Sunday Times'' in 1988, Neil met the former

Miss India Miss India may refer to: * Femina Miss India, the most prestigious and oldest surviving national beauty pageant in India that started in 1964. It sends its winner to Miss World. * Miss Diva, the national beauty pageant that sends its winners to Miss ...

Pamella Bordes Pamela Chaudry Singh (born 1961), known for some years as Pamella Bordes, is an Indian photographer and former Femina Miss India, Miss India. Personal life Singh was born in New Delhi in 1961; her father, Major Mahinder Singh Kadian, was an of ...

, in a nightclub, an inappropriate place for someone with Neil's job according to

Peregrine Worsthorne Sir Peregrine Gerard Worsthorne (''né'' Koch de Gooreynd; 22 December 1923 – 4 October 2020) was a British journalist, writer, and broadcaster. He spent the largest part of his career at the ''Telegraph'' newspaper titles, eventually becomi ...

. The ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...

'' suggested Bordes was a

call girl A call girl or female escort is a sex worker who (unlike a street walker) does not display her profession to the general public, nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by an escort agency.< ...

. Worsthorne argued in an editorial article "Playboys as Editors" in March 1989 for ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...

'' that Neil was not fit to edit a serious Sunday newspaper. Worsthorne effectively accused Neil of knowing that Bordes was a prostitute. He apparently did not know about Bordes, which the ''Telegraph'' had accepted by the time the libel case came to

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...

in January 1990, but the paper still defended their coverage as

fair comment Fair comment is a legal term for a common law defense in defamation cases ( libel or slander). It is referred to as honest comment in some countries. United States In the United States, the traditional privilege of "fair comment" is seen as a pr ...

. Neil won both the case and £1,000 in damagesBen Summerskil
"Paper tiger"
''The Observer'', 28 July 2002 plus costs. In a July 1988 editorial ("Morals for the majority") Neil claimed that in Britain there were emerging pockets of social decay and unsocial behaviour: "a social rot...has gone deeper than the industrial decay of the 1960s and 1970s". Having been impressed with

Charles Murray Charles Murray may refer to: Politicians *Charles Murray, 1st Earl of Dunmore (1661–1710), British peer *Charles Murray (author and diplomat) (1806–1895), British author and diplomat *Charles Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore (1841–1907), Scotti ...

's study of the American welfare state, '' Losing Ground'', Neil invited Murray to Britain in 1989 to study Britain's emerging

underclass The underclass is the segment of the population that occupies the lowest possible position in a class hierarchy, below the core body of the working class. The general idea that a class system includes a population ''under'' the working class has ...

. ''The Sunday Times Magazine'' of 26 November 1989 was largely devoted to Murray's report, which found that the British underclass consisted of people existing on welfare, the

black economy A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the ...

and crime, with illegitimacy being the single most reliable predictor. The accompanying editorial said Britain was in the midst of a "social tragedy of Dickensian proportions", with an underclass "characterized by drugs, casual violence, petty crime, illegitimate children, homelessness, work avoidance and contempt for conventional values". Under Neil's editorship, ''The Sunday Times'' opposed the poll tax. In his memoirs, Neil claimed that his opposition to the poll tax crystallised when he discovered that his cleaner would be paying more poll tax than himself at a time when his income tax had just been reduced to 40% from 60%. During the 1990 Conservative Party leadership election, ''The Sunday Times'' was the only Murdoch-owned newspaper to support

Michael Heseltine Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician and businessman. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket. Heseltine served ...

against Thatcher.Campbell, ''Margaret Thatcher, Volume Two'', p. 729. Neil blamed Thatcher for high inflation, "misplaced chauvinism" over Europe, and the poll tax, concluding that she had become an "electoral liability" and must therefore be replaced by Heseltine. In an editorial of January 1988 ("Modernize the monarchy"), Neil advocated the abolition of both the preference for males in the law of succession and of the exclusion of Catholics from the throne. Subsequent editorials of ''The Sunday Times'' called for the Queen to pay income tax and advocated a scaled-down monarchy that would not be class-based but which would be "an institution with close links to all classes. That meant clearing out the old-school courtiers...and creating a court which was far more representative of the multi-racial meritocracy that Britain was becoming". In an editorial of February 1991 Neil criticised some minor members of the Royal Family for their behaviour while the country was at war in the

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

. In 1992 Neil obtained for ''The Sunday Times'' the serialisation rights for Andrew Morton's book ''Diana: Her True Story'', which revealed the breakdown of

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

's marriage as well as her bulimia and her suicide attempts. In 1992 Neil was criticised by anti-Nazi groups and historians like

Hugh Trevor-Roper Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton (15 January 1914 – 26 January 2003) was an English historian. He was Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford. Trevor-Roper was a polemicist and essayist on a range of ...

Peter Pringle and David Liste
"Hitler apologist does deal for Goebbels war diaries: 'Sunday Times' contract with David Irving over rediscovered Nazi material alarms scholars"
''The Independent'' 3 July 1992 for employing the

Holocaust denier Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: * ...

David Irving David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938) is an English author and Holocaust denier who has written on the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany. His works include ''The Destruction of Dresden'' (19 ...

to translate the diaries of

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

.Rosie Waterhouse, et a
"Irving back to anti-Nazi fury"
''The Independent on Sunday'', 5 July 1992

End of the Murdoch connection

According to Neil, he was replaced as ''Sunday Times'' editor in 1994 because Murdoch had become envious of his celebrity. Many years later, in November 2017, former Conservative cabinet minister

Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham, (born 2 July 1940), often known as Ken Clarke, is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997 as well as serving as de ...

said Neil had been removed because Neil's article about corruption in the Malaysian government of Mahathir Mohamad conflicted with Murdoch's desire to acquire a television franchise in the country. The Malaysian prime minister at the time told Clarke on a ministerial visit that he had achieved Neil's sacking after a telephone conversation with Murdoch. The conflict between Neil and Mohamad did become public knowledge at the time. The British minister of state for trade Richard Needham criticised Neil and the newspaper for potentially putting thousands of jobs at risk. Neil's departure from his role as ''Sunday Times'' editor was officially reported in 1994 as being merely temporary, as he was to present and edit a current affairs programme for

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

in New York. "During my time, the ''Sunday Times'' has been at the centre of every major controversy in Britain", he said at the time. "These are the kind of journalistic values I want to reproduce at Fox". Neil's new television programme did not make it to air. A pilot produced in September had a mixed internal response, and Murdoch cancelled the entire project in late October. Neil did not return to his job as ''Sunday Times'' editor.

Post-News Corp career

Neil became a contributor to the ''

''. In 1996, he became editor-in-chief of the

Barclay brothers Sir David Rowat Barclay (27 October 1934 – 10 January 2021) and Sir Frederick Hugh Barclay (born 27 October 1934), commonly referred to as the "Barclay Brothers" or "Barclay Twins", were British billionaires. They were identical twin brothers ...

Press Holdings Press Holdings and May Corporation Limited are two Jersey-registered holding companies owned by Frederick Barclay, which control the UK holding company Press Acquisitions Limited, which in turn owns the Telegraph Media Group, parent company of ''T ...

group of newspapers, owner of ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

'', ''

Sunday Business ''Sunday Business'' was a national Sunday broadsheet financial newspaper published in the United Kingdom, which ran from 1996 to 2006, when it was turned into a magazine called '' The Business''. History The newspaper was founded by Tom Rubyth ...

'' (later just '' The Business'') and '' The European''. Press Holdings sold ''The Scotsman'' in December 2005, ending Neil's relationship with the newspaper. Neil has not enjoyed great success with the circulations of the newspapers (indeed ''The European'' folded shortly after he took over). ''The Business'' closed down in February 2008. He exchanged his role as chief executive of Press Holdings for chairman in July 2008. He is chairman of the Press Holdings title ''

''. Since 2006 Neil has been chair of the

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

-based publishing company

. In June 2008, Neil led a consortium which bought talent agency Peters, Fraser & Dunlop (PFD) from CSS Stellar plc for £4 million, making him chairman of the new company in addition to his other activities. Neil served as Lord Rector of the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

from 1999 to 2002.

Broadcasting career

As well as Neil's newspaper activities he has maintained a television career. While he worked for ''The Economist'', he provided news reports to American networks. His regular interview series for

, '' Is This Your Life?'' (made by

Open Media Open Media is a British television production company, best known for the discussion series '' After Dark'', described in the national press as "the most original programme on television". The company was founded in 1987 and has produced more t ...

), was nominated for a BAFTA award for "Best Talk Show". In the course of the series Neil interviewed a wide variety of personalities, from

Albert Reynolds Albert Martin Reynolds (3 November 1932 – 21 August 2014) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1992 to 1994, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994, Minister for Finance from 1988 to 1991, Minister for Indust ...

and

Morris Cerullo Morris Cerullo (October 2, 1931 – July 10, 2020) was an American Pentecostal evangelist. He traveled extensively around the world for his ministry. He hosted ''Victory Today'', a daily television program, and published more than 80 books. Cer ...

Jimmy Savile Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile (; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English DJ, television and radio personality who hosted BBC shows including ''Top of the Pops'' and ''Jim'll Fix It''. During his lifetime, he was well known ...

and

Max Clifford Maxwell Frank Clifford (6 April 1943 – 10 December 2017) was an English publicist who was particularly associated with promoting " kiss and tell" stories in tabloid newspapers. In December 2012, as part of Operation Yewtree, Clifford was arr ...

. He acted as a television newsreader in two films: '' Dirty Weekend'' (1993) and ''

Parting Shots ''Parting Shots'' is a 1999 British dark comedy film starring Chris Rea, Felicity Kendal, Oliver Reed, Bob Hoskins, Diana Rigg, Ben Kingsley, John Cleese and Joanna Lumley. It was the final film directed by Michael Winner. Upon release in the ...

'' (1999), both directed by

Michael Winner Robert Michael Winner (30 October 1935 – 21 January 2013) was a British filmmaker, writer, and media personality. He is known for directing numerous action, thriller, and black comedy films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, including several c ...

Sky

Adam Boulton Andrew Neil Benedicte Paviot

In 1988 he became founding chairman of Sky TV, also part of Murdoch's

. Neil was instrumental in the company's launch, overseeing the transformation of a downmarket, single-channel satellite service into a four-channel network in less than a year. Neil and Murdoch stood side by side at Sky's new headquarters in

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...

on 5 February 1989 to witness the launch of the service. Sky was not an instant success; the uncertainty caused by the competition provided by

British Satellite Broadcasting British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) was a television company, headquartered in London, that provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom. They started broadcasting on 25 March 1990. The company was merged with ...

(BSB) and the initial shortage of satellite dishes were early problems. The failure of BSB in November 1990 led to a merger, but a few programmes acquired by BSB were screened on

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

and BSB's satellites were sold. The new company was called

British Sky Broadcasting Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...

(BSkyB). The merger may have saved Sky financially; despite its popularity, Sky had very few major advertisers to begin with, and it was beginning to suffer from embarrassing breakdowns. Acquiring BSB's healthier advertising contracts and equipment apparently solved the problems. BSkyB would not make a profit for a decade but by July 2010, it was one of the most profitable television companies in Europe.

BBC

At ''The Sunday Times'', he contributed to BBC, both radio and television. He commented on the various controversies provoked by the paper while he was editor. During the 1990s, Neil fronted political programmes for the BBC, notably ''

Despatch Box A despatch box (alternatively dispatch box) is one of several types of boxes used in government business. Despatch boxes primarily include both those sometimes known as red boxes or ministerial boxes, which are used by the Sovereign and his min ...

'' on

Following the revamp of the BBC's political programming in early 2003, Neil presented the live political programmes, '' This Week'' on

and ''

'' on BBC Two. The latter ended in 2018 and was replaced by ''

'', which Neil presented until he left the corporation. From 2007 to 2010, he presented the weekly one-on-one political interview programme ''Straight Talk with Andrew Neil'' on the

BBC News channel BBC News (also known as the BBC News Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television news channel for BBC News. It was launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 5:30 pm as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic telev ...

. He also presented ''

'' on BBC One between 2012 and 2017 and occasionally guest presented ''

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...

'' on BBC Two following host

Jeremy Paxman Jeremy Dickson Paxman (born 11 May 1950) is an English broadcaster, journalist, author, and television presenter. Born in Leeds, Paxman was educated at Malvern College and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he edited the undergraduate new ...

's departure in 2014. Neil played an important part of the BBC general election night coverage in both

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. Neil interviewed various celebrities on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

for the 2010 election and political figures in the studio for the 2015 election. He also provided commentary on foreign elections, and with

Katty Kay Katherine "Katty" Kay (born 14 November 1964) is a British-Swiss journalist, author and broadcaster. She presented BBC World News America and, with Christian Fraser, hosted ''Beyond 100 Days'' on BBC Four, BBC News and BBC World News. She has an ...

led the BBC's overnight live coverage of the US presidential election in 2016. In the run-up to the 2017 general election he interviewed five of the political party leaders on BBC One in ''The Andrew Neil Interviews''. Neil earned £200,000 to £249,999 as a BBC presenter in the financial year 2016–17. In May 2019, Neil interviewed

Ben Shapiro Benjamin Aaron Shapiro (born January 15, 1984) is an American attorney, businessman, columnist, conservative political commentator, and media personality. At age 17, he became the youngest nationally syndicated columnist in the United States. ...

, an American conservative commentator, on ''Politics Live'' on BBC Two. Shapiro was promoting his new book, '' The Right Side of History'', which discusses

Judeo-Christian The term Judeo-Christian is used to group Christianity and Judaism together, either in reference to Christianity's derivation from Judaism, Christianity's borrowing of Jewish Scripture to constitute the "Old Testament" of the Christian Bible, or ...

values and asserts their decline in the United States. Shapiro took offence to the questioning, accused Neil of having a left-leaning bias, and said Neil was trying to make a "quick buck... off of the fact that I'm popular and no one has ever heard of you", before Shapiro ended the interview. Shapiro later apologised for the incident. During the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election, Neil interviewed candidates

Jeremy Hunt Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Exchequer since 14 October 2022. He previously served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport ...

and

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

, in ''The Andrew Neil Interviews.'' Director of BBC News

Fran Unsworth Francesca Mary Unsworth (born 29 December 1957) is a British journalist and media executive. Since January 2018 she has been Director, News & Current Affairs for BBC News. She was appointed in succession to James Harding. Before then she ser ...

hailed it as "a masterclass of political interviewing". In August 2019, the BBC announced that Neil would host a prime-time political programme that would run through autumn 2019 on BBC Two, called '' The Andrew Neil Show''. The show included "in-depth analysis and forensic questioning of key political players". It was suspended due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

in March 2020 and then cancelled as the BBC went through with budget cuts. On 24 September 2019, Neil presented a live programme on BBC One entitled ''BBC News Special: Politics in Crisis'', addressing the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

judgement Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle s ...

which deemed Boris Johnson's prorogation of parliament unlawful. In the run-up to the 2019 general election, Neil interviewed all the leaders of the main political parties, excluding Johnson, having delivered a monologue in ''The Andrew Neil Interviews'' issuing him a challenge to participate. On 15 July 2020 the BBC announced that Neil was in talks about an interview show on BBC One. The next month he was discussed in the media as Sir David Clementi's possible successor as

chairman of the BBC The Chairman of the BBC is the head of the BBC Board, responsible for maintaining the independence of the BBC and overseeing the functioning of the BBC to fulfil its mission. The chairman leads the process for appointing the Director-General and ...

; he later said he had no interest in the role. The

director-general of the BBC The director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief of the BBC. The position was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC (for the period of 1927 to 2007) and then t ...

Tim Davie Timothy Douglas Davie (born 25 April 1967 in Croydon, London) is the current and seventeenth Director-General of the BBC. He succeeded Tony Hall in the role on 1 September 2020. Davie was formerly the chief executive officer of BBC Studios. ...

, on his second day in the role, held talks with Neil "in an attempt to get him back to the BBC" and it was reported that he was also in discussions with executives from commercial rivals. Neil's final appearance for the BBC was when he presented coverage of the

2020 US presidential election The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala H ...

, again with Katty Kay.

GB News

On 25 September 2020, Neil announced his exit from the BBC to become chairman of

, a news channel launched on 13 June 2021. As well as being chairman, he presented ''Andrew Neil'', a

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

evening programme on the channel. Two weeks after the channel's launch, after having hosted eight episodes of his show, he announced he would be taking a break. He spent months in his hiatus involved in legal disputes with GB News over ending his contract. However, Neil and the channel publicly maintained that he was taking a holiday, and he was expected to rejoin the channel in early September. As that time approached, multiple news sources reported that his return had been postponed, with some speculating that this postponement might become indefinite. It was further reported that he was "highly unlikely" to return to the channel. On 13 September, Neil resigned from GB News as chairman and lead presenter and announced he would enter a new role as a guest contributor. Later that month, on the BBC's ''

Question Time A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including the prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be ca ...

'', he said that he had left his roles at GB News over the direction the channel was taking, and that he had become a "minority of one" within senior management. It was reported that these remarks had angered GB News bosses and that Neil would not be appearing on GB News again. On 22 September, Neil said he would not return to GB News. Neil later called his decision to lead the channel the "single biggest mistake" of his career, comparing the channel to

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

Return to Channel 4

In January 2022, it was reported that Neil was in talks with

about presenting a weekly politics show to be launched later in 2022. On 30 January, Channel 4 aired a documentary, ''Boris Johnson: Has He Run Out of Road?'', in which Neil explored the future of

's premiership following repeated allegations of parties held in Downing Street during the COVID-19 lockdown. On 21 February, Channel 4 announced he would host a show beginning in May, which would also be accompanied by a weekly podcast. '' The Andrew Neil Show'' launched with an interview with cabinet minister

Jacob Rees-Mogg Jacob William Rees-Mogg (born 24 May 1969) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Somerset since 2010. Now a backbencher, he served as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council ...

, and Neil was also joined by journalists Pippa Crerar and Madeline Grant.

Political positions

War in Afghanistan

Neil was a vocal and enthusiastic proponent of British military involvement in Afghanistan. Neil derided those who opposed the war as "wimps with no will to fight", while labelling ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' as ''The Daily Terrorist'' and the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'' as the ''New Taliban'' for publishing dissenting opinions about the wisdom of British military involvement. For questioning whether "Bush and Blair are leading us deeper and deeper into a quagmire", Neil ridiculed ''

'' columnist Stephen Glover, calling him "woolly, wimpy" and "juvenile". He compared

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

and

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, while describing the

United States invasion of Afghanistan In late 2001, the United States and its close allies invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban government. The invasion's aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the September 11 attacks, and to deny it a safe base of operatio ...

as a "calibrated response" and a "patient, precise and successful deployment of US military power".

War in Iraq

Neil was an early advocate of the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

, describing the case for war and regime change advanced by

and

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

as "convincing" and "masterful". In 2002, Neil wrote that Iraq had "embarked on a worldwide shopping spree to buy the technology and material needed to construct weapons of mass destruction – and the missile systems needed to deliver them across great distances", and that "the suburbs of Baghdad are now dotted with secret installations, often posing as hospitals or schools, developing missile fuel, bodies and guidance systems, chemical and biological warheads and, most sinister of all, a renewed attempt to develop nuclear weapons." He wrote that

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

would provide

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

with

weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natura ...

, and that Saddam had links to the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

Climate change

Neil has been accused of rejecting the scientific consensus on climate change and has been criticised for frequently inviting non-scientists and climate change deniers to deny climate change on his BBC programmes. In 2012, Bob Ward of the

Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment is a research institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science founded in May 2008. The centre is a partner of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at I ...

at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, said that Neil had "rarely, if ever, included a

climate scientist Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "place, zone"; and , ''-logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. This modern field of study ...

in any of its debates about global warming" on his BBC programme ''Daily Politics''. Ward wrote that Neil let inaccurate and misleading statements about climate change go unchallenged on ''Daily Politics''. In November 2020, Neil said that climate change was real and needed to be confronted. He criticised protests by

Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk o ...

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

, stating: "I've interviewed Extinction Rebellion on several occasions and most of what they say is total nonsense or total exaggeration."

HIV/AIDS

During Neil's time as editor, ''The Sunday Times'' backed a campaign to falsely claim that

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

was not a cause of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

. In 1990, ''The Sunday Times'' serialised a book by an American right-winger who rejected the scientific consensus on the causes of AIDS, and who falsely claimed that AIDS could not spread to heterosexuals. Articles and editorials in ''The Sunday Times'' cast doubt on the scientific consensus, described HIV as a "politically correct virus" about which there was a "conspiracy of silence," disputed that AIDS was spreading in Africa, claimed that tests for HIV were invalid, described the HIV/AIDS treatment drug azidothymidine (AZT) as harmful, and characterised the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

(WHO) as an "Empire-building AIDS rganisation" The

pseudoscientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...

coverage of HIV/AIDS in ''The Sunday Times'' led the scientific journal ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

'' to monitor the newspaper's coverage and to publish letters rebutting the falsehoods printed in ''The Sunday Times''. In response to this, ''The Sunday Times'' published an article headlined "AIDS – why we won't be silenced", which claimed that ''Nature'' engaged in censorship and "sinister intent". In his 1996 book, ''Full Disclosure'', Neil wrote that his

HIV/AIDS denialism HIV/AIDS denialism is the belief, despite conclusive evidence to the contrary, that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) does not cause acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Some of its proponents reject the existence of HIV, while othe ...

"deserved publication to encourage debate." That same year, he wrote that ''The Sunday Times'' had been vindicated in its coverage, "The Sunday Times was one of a handful of newspapers, perhaps the most prominent, which argued that heterosexual Aids was a myth. The figures are now in and this newspaper stands totally vindicated... The history of Aids is one of the great scandals of our time. I do not blame doctors and the Aids lobby for warning that everybody might be at risk in the early days, when ignorance was rife and reliable evidence scant." He criticised the "AIDS establishment" and said "Aids had become an industry, a job-creation scheme for the caring classes." In a 2021 interview Neil said that he now regretted certain aspects of the paper's coverage of HIV and AIDS, but he was unwilling or unable to accept any personal responsibility for the falsehoods published while he was editor. Neil chose instead to blame an employee, stating that he had placed faith in a trusted correspondent who was found to be wrong.

Republicanism

In January 1997,

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

broadcast a live television debate ''Monarchy: The Nation Decides'', in which Neil spoke in favour of establishing a republic. When asked in 2021 by the BBC if he was still a republican, he changed his mind, saying "Not really."

''Private Eye''

The British satirical and investigative journalism magazine ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...

'' has referred to Neil by the nickname "Brillo" after his wiry hair, which is seen as bearing a resemblance to a

Brillo Pad Brillo is a trade name for a scouring pad, used for cleaning dishes, and made from steel wool impregnated with soap. The concept was patented in 1913, at a time when aluminium pots and pans were replacing cast iron in the kitchen; the new coo ...

, a brand of scouring pad. In a long-running joke, a photograph of Neil wearing a vest and baseball cap in an embrace with a much younger woman (often mistaken for

, a former ''Miss India'', but really an African American make-up artist with whom Neil was once involved)Mary Riddel
"Non-stop Neil, at home alone"
, ''British Journalism Review'', Vol. 16, No. 2, 2005, p13-20 appeared regularly in the letters page of the magazine for some years, and is still used occasionally. Typically, a reader will ask the editor if he has any photographs relevant to some topical news item, frequently with a veiled allusion to the age-gap between two individuals, or to ethnic diversity. By

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

, the letter can be construed as a request for this photo, which is duly published alongside. Neil claims to find it "fascinating" and an example of "public school racism" on the part of the magazine's editorial staff.

Personal life

Formerly dubbed the "Bachelor of Fleet Street", Neil married Susan Nilsson on 8 August 2015. He had dated the Swedish civil and structural engineer for several years. Nilsson is currently director of communications of engineering and environmental consultancy, Waterman Group PLC. By 2006 he had 14 godchildren but he has no children of his own. Neil is a resident of France and also has homes in London and New York. Neil has threatened to sue the American businesswoman and former lover of Boris Johnson,

Jennifer Arcuri Jennifer Marie Arcuri (born February 1985) is an American technology entrepreneur. She lived in London from 2011 to 2018, before moving back to California. Self-described as an "ethical hacker", she founded the White hat (computer security), whit ...

, over claims she made on Twitter linking Neil to the billionaire and child sex abuser

Jeffrey Epstein Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American sex offender and financier. Epstein, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, began his professional life by teaching at the Dalton School in Manhattan, des ...

, as well as other Twitter users who retweeted or endorsed her now-deleted tweet. Neil denies ever meeting Epstein and argues he was put in his infamous "black book" by

Ghislaine Maxwell Ghislaine Noelle Marion Maxwell ( ; born 25 December 1961) is a British convicted sex offender and former socialite. In 2021, she was found guilty of child sex trafficking and other offences in connection with the financier and convicted sex o ...

, Epstein's procurer.

Honours

Scholastic

; Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships ; Honorary degrees

Memberships and fellowships

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neil, Andrew 1949 births Alumni of the University of Glasgow BBC newsreaders and journalists Scottish social commentators Scottish newspaper publishers (people) Broadcasters from Paisley, Renfrewshire Conservative Party (UK) people Journalists from Paisley, Renfrewshire Living people People educated at Paisley Grammar School Press Holdings Rectors of the University of St Andrews Scottish chief executives Scottish magazine editors Scottish newspaper editors Scottish political commentators Scottish television presenters The Spectator people The Sunday Times people Writers from Paisley, Renfrewshire GB News GB News newsreaders and journalists