Isabel Euphemia Oakeshott is a British political journalist and broadcaster. She was the political editor of The Sunday Times and is the co-author, with Michael Ashcroft, of an unauthorised biography of former British prime ministerDavid Cameron, Call Me Dave, and of various other non-fiction titles, including White Flag?, an examination of the UK's defence capability, also written with Lord Ashcroft; Farmageddon, co-authored with Philip Lymbery.
Oakeshott began her career in journalism working in Scotland for the East Lothian Courier, Edinburgh Evening News, Daily Record, Sunday Mirror and Daily Mail, before returning to London and joining the Evening Standard as the Health correspondent. After three years, Oakeshott moved to The Sunday Times in 2006 as deputy political editor, becoming political editor in 2010, and remained until 2014. Oakeshott was awarded the title "Political Journalist of the Year" at the 2011 British Press Awards. In 2013, while at The Sunday Times, she persuaded Vicky Pryce to implicate her estranged husband, former Liberal DemocratMP and Cabinet ministerChris Huhne, in perverting the course of justice, leading to the case R v Huhne, and to both Pryce and Huhne being convicted and imprisoned. Oakeshott has appeared as a panelist on the BBC's Daily Politics, as well as on BBC TV's Question Time, and has been a contributor to Sky News' Press Preview programme. Between February 2016 and early 2017, Oakeshott was the Daily Mails political editor-at-large. In 2019, she wrote a series of articles for The Mail on Sunday based on leaked diplomatic memos written by the British Ambassador to the United StatesSir Kim Darroch, where he criticised the Trump administration. The leak led to his resignation. In July 2019 The Guardian retracted claims implying that Oakeshott had obtained confidential files by sleeping with Nigel Farage and Aaron Banks. The text of an article by John Crace included the statement that Oakeshott only got confidential emails if Farage and Banks "slips it to her". Following the threat of legal action by Oakeshott, the text was amended to: "leave it conveniently tucked under her pillow". This second revision was then removed, with the final version stating: "if he or Arron Banks leave it conveniently to one side for her”. Oakeshott stated: “It gives me great pleasure to teach John Crace and the Guardian a little lesson about casually slurring women whose politics they dislike.”. It was also reported that the newspaper paid her a five figure sum in compensation. In May 2020, Oakeshott attended a garden party hosted by The Spectator magazine’s deputy editor, Freddy Gray, in the village of Seaview, along with Richard Tice, the Brexit party chairman, and the MP for the Isle Of WightBob Seely. The law at that time prohibited a person leaving or being outside where they were living without reasonable excuse. Amendments on 13 May 2020 did relax the law, including a reasonable excuse as being in a public open space for ‘open-air recreation’ with one member of another household. However, it did not include a private garden.
Writing career
Oakeshott has written a number of non-fiction books. Inside Out, co-authored with, or ghostwritten for, Labour Party insider Peter Watt, is an inside look at New Labour. Farmageddon: the true cost of cheap meat, co-authored with Philip Lymbery, investigates the effects of industrial-scale meat production. Call Me Dave, co-authored with Michael Ashcroft, is an unauthorised biography of former British prime minister David Cameron. One of the details in the book – that Cameron, during his university days, allegedly performed a sex act involving a dead pig – caused a particular stir upon publication. However, the unsubstantiated story was dependent on hearsay, and Oakeshott subsequently conceded her source could have been "deranged". The Bad Boys of Brexit is an inside account of the Leave.EU campaign during the run-up to the Brexit referendum, which she had ghostwritten for UKIP donor and Leave.EU funder Arron Banks. Oakeshott is a supporter of Brexit. She was in possession of details about Russia's cultivation and handling of Banks, that he was in regular contact with Russian officials from 2015 to 2017, but publicly downplayed Russian involvement with him. She co-authored with Ashcroft a book on the state of the British Armed Forces, White Flag? in 2018.
Personal life
Oakeshott was married to Nigel Rosser. They have three children. In 2018, she separated from her husband and began a relationship with businessman and Brexit Party chairman Richard Tice. She is related to life peer Matthew Oakeshott and to philosopher and political theorist, Michael Oakeshott.
