Journalist Isabel Oakeshott has found herself at the centre of a stream of controversies in recent years.
Famously, she broke an NDA by leaking over 100,000 of Matt Hancock’s personal WhatsApp messages from the Covid pandemic, which she obtained while writing the former health secretary’s memoir. She’s also responsible for making public the unsubstantiated claims involving David Cameron and a pig’s head, and for exposing emails that revealed that former Cabinet minister Chris Huhne had swapped speeding points with his wife, Vicky Pryce.
She’s pro-Brexit, anti-lockdown, and a free-speech advocate who in 2024 moved to Dubai. Her political views have often sparked backlash: in 2024, she was reported to Ofcom after she called young people on out-of-work benefits ‘parasites’ on a Talk TV show.
Most recently, she’s hit headlines for her marriage to Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK. Read on for everything we know about the right-wing political commentator.
Who is Isabel Oakeshott?
Isabel Oakeshott is a British political journalist, currently living in Dubai.
Born in Westminster, London, she later moved to Scotland and studied at private schools including Gordonstoun School in Moray, whose alums include both King Charles and his father, the Duke of Edinburgh. She went on to study history at the University of Bristol.
Last year, Oakeshott confirmed that she had moved to Dubai with her family due to the Labour government’s introduction of VAT on private school fees.
What does Isabel Oakeshott do for work?
After starting her journalism career in Scotland, she returned to London and has held roles at the Evening Standard as a health correspondent, The Sunday Times as political editor, and as The Daily Mail’s political editor-at-large. In 2021, she joined GB News as a host.
Alongside her journalism, she’s penned several non-fiction books. She’s written various biographies for politicians, including the unauthorised Call Me Dave about former prime minister David Cameron. She also helped Matt Hancock write his book The Pandemic Diaries, which led to her leaking thousands of his messages to The Daily Telegraph. Oakeshott claimed leaking the messages was in the public interest as they revealed details about public health decision-making during the Covid pandemic.
She was a very vocal supporter of Brexit and ghostwrote The Bad Boys of Brexit, an account of the Leave.EU campaign during the run-up to the referendum, for UKIP donor and Leave.EU funder Arron Banks.
How old is Isabel Oakeshott?
Born on 12 June 1974, Oakeshott is 52 years old.
Is Isabel Oakeshott married to Richard Tice?
Yes, Oakeshott is married to Reform UK’s Richard Tice. The couple got together in 2018 and tied the knot this month at the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Palace of Westminster.
Tice is deputy leader of the Reform party, a position he’s held since he was elected as MP of the Boston and Skegness constituency at the 2024 general election. Previously, he was leader of the party, before he was succeeded by Nigel Farage.
With Oakeshott now residing in Dubai, Tice splits his time between the UAE and Skegness.
Has Isabel Oakeshott been married before?
Oakeshott was previously married to Nigel Rosser, a journalist.
Does Isabel Oakeshott have children?
She has three children from her marriage to Rosser, who live with her in Dubai.