James Edward O'Brien (born 1972)[1][2] is a British radio presenter, podcaster, author, and former tabloid journalist and television presenter. Since 2004, he has hosted a weekday morning phone-in discussion for talk station LBC.[3]
In 2017/18, he hosted an interview series on Joe.ie. He has been an occasional presenter for BBC's Newsnight. His spin-off podcast for LBC commenced in 2019.[4] He has been described as a shock jock.
Early life
O'Brien was born to a teenage single mother, whose name he knows but whom he has no wish to meet.[5] He was adopted at the age of 28 days by Jim O'Brien, a journalist on the Doncaster Evening News[6] (who later joined The Daily Telegraph) and his wife.[5][7]
With his wife, Lucy O'Brien (née McDonald), he fronted Channel 5's 2001 general election talk show 5 Talk, securing a review from Clive James, who wrote: "James, in particular, is a pink-shirted walking encyclopedia of political savvy".[14][15][16]
LBC
O'Brien first appeared on LBC during 2002 as a holiday cover presenter. His own weekly programme began in January 2003 and he became a full-time presenter in 2004.[3] Regular features of his show include the "Mystery Hour," in which listeners phone in with various things that puzzle them and other callers attempt to give a solution.[12]
O'Brien made national headlines in April 2009 when footballer Frank Lampard phoned his show to object to tabloid stories about his private life and O'Brien's discussion of them. Lampard's former fiancée, Elen Rivas, had alleged that Frank Lampard had turned their home into a bachelor pad while she and Lampard's children were living in a rented flat. Lampard phoned in, objecting to the assertion that he was "weak" and "scum" and said that he had fought "tooth and nail" to keep his family together.[17] Public comments on Lampard's reaction praised Lampard's "brave" and "articulate" handling of the situation.[17] The exchange later earned O'Brien, who defended his conduct in an equally heated exchange with Kay Burley on Sky News, a Bronze Award in the Best Interview category of the 2010 Sony Radio Academy Awards.[18]
In 2013, O'Brien clashed with Work and Pensions SecretaryIain Duncan Smith in an argument over the Government's work programmes.[19] In May 2014, O'Brien interviewed UKIP leader Nigel Farage. During the interview, O'Brien picked up on Farage's comment that he felt uncomfortable on a train at not being able to hear anyone speaking English. Farage was also criticised by O'Brien for misinterpreting having English as a second language as being unable to speak English at all and for saying he would be concerned if a group of Romanian men moved in next door to him.[20] In October 2014, O'Brien breached broadcasting rules by his remarks during the Clacton by-election.[21]
Throughout 2014 and 2015, O'Brien gave much air time and promotion to false claims of VIP sex abuse by the now discredited Exaro News website, which were based on testimony from Carl Beech, later sentenced to prison for perverting the course of justice and child sex offences,[22][23] something O'Brien later expressed regret for on Twitter.[24]
O'Brien has stated that he voted for Boris Johnson in the 2008 London mayoral election, though he now regrets his vote.[25] Politically, O'Brien said in 2017 that his views are 'liberal' rather than 'left-wing'.[26] He has said that he is politically homeless, being against the British Left such as the Labour party under Jeremy Corbyn, but enjoys support from the liberal media of British politics e.g. the New Statesman and The Guardian.[27][28] He enjoys the freedom that LBC gives him to express his views.[29] O'Brien frequently discusses Brexit with callers who voted to leave the EU in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum,[30] often claiming Leave voters had been deceived by the pro-Brexit campaigns to vote against their own interests.[31] In 2023, O’Brien was ranked number thirty-eight in the New Statesman’s Left Power List 2023, with the publication describing him as a “liberal firebrand” and “master of the sound-bite”.[32]
In August 2024, following criticism from the Jewish community, O'Brien apologized for praising a social media video that attributed some of the violence during the 2024 United Kingdom riots to "Zionist backers" during an LBC broadcast. He explained that he had not watched the video in full before commenting and described the remarks as "obnoxious and anti-Semitic."[33][34][35]
According to Michael Henderson of The Critic, O'Brien's LBC show is a "thundering, sanctimonious bore" and, "He exhibits the faults he finds so readily in others and passes them off as fruits from the tree of knowledge".[36]
Television
O'Brien began occasionally guest presenting on the BBC Two programme Newsnight in August 2014.[37][38][29] Following the widespread interest in O'Brien's interview with Farage, it was speculated he would be a permanent replacement for longtime host Jeremy Paxman, who intended to step down.[39] The job was ultimately taken by Evan Davis.[40] O'Brien left Newsnight in January 2018 after being criticised for his anti-Brexit and anti-Trump views, which were felt to be out of step with the corporation's policy on neutrality. He departed on good terms, saying the BBC still had the finest selection of journalists in the world.[41]
In 2015, O'Brien presented a chat show for ITV called O'Brien, which aired for ten episodes.[42]
In 2015 he wrote the book Loathe Thy Neighbour, which examined attitudes towards immigration, and was published by Elliott & Thompson.[48]
In his 2018 book How To Be Right... in a World Gone Wrong, O'Brien offers his opinions on various current affairs. The book reached fifth position in The Sunday Times' Top 10 best sellers' list in December that year.[49]
In 2023, his book “How They Broke Britain” was published by WH Allen.
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