Rod Liddle facts for kids

Rod Liddle (born 1 April 1960) is an English journalist and an associate editor for The Spectator. He used to be an editor for BBC Radio 4's Today programme. He has written several books, including Too Beautiful for You (2003) and Selfish Whining Monkeys (2014). He has also presented TV shows like The New Fundamentalists and The Trouble with Atheism.

Liddle started his career at the South Wales Echo newspaper. He then worked for the Labour Party before joining the BBC. He became editor of Today in 1998. He left in 2002 after the BBC disagreed with an article he wrote for The Guardian. Today, he writes for The Sunday Times, The Spectator, and The Sun.

Early Life and Radio Career

Rod Liddle was born on 1 April 1960. When he was 16, he was a member of the Socialist Workers Party for about a year. He also supported the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). He remembered campaigning for the Labour Party in the 1983 general election. He went door-to-door to ask for votes while dressed in punk style. He joked that he might have lost his party many votes by doing this.

He later attended the London School of Economics (LSE) as an adult student. He studied social psychology there. His first job in journalism was at the South Wales Echo in Cardiff. He worked as a general news reporter and also wrote about rock and pop music. From 1983 to 1987, he worked for the Labour Party. He wrote speeches and did research for them.

After graduating from LSE, Liddle decided to return to journalism. He joined the BBC as a trainee producer.

Leading the Today Programme

In 1998, Rod Liddle became the editor of the BBC Radio 4 programme Today. This show was well-known for its political interviews. Liddle worked to make the show better at investigative journalism. He hired journalists from outside the BBC to help with this.

One of these journalists was Andrew Gilligan. Gilligan joined Today in 1999. After Liddle had left the programme, Gilligan reported in 2003 that the British government had made an intelligence report on Iraq seem more serious than it was. This report led to a series of events, including the death of David Kelly, a weapons inspector. Kelly was Gilligan's source for the report. A public inquiry, called the Hutton Inquiry, looked into Kelly's death. Liddle supported Gilligan throughout this time.

Under Liddle's leadership, Today won several awards. It won a Sony Silver award in 2002 for reports on race riots in England. It also won a Sony Bronze award in 2003 for an investigation into priests who harmed children. In 2003, it received an Amnesty International Media Award for an investigation into the sale of illegal landmines.

While working for Today, Liddle also wrote a column for The Guardian. In 2002, he wrote about a march to support fox hunting. He said that people would remember why they voted for the Labour Party in 1997 when they saw those campaigning for hunting. The BBC decided that Liddle's comments went against his duty to be fair as a BBC editor. He was told to stop writing his column or leave his job. He resigned on 30 September 2002.

Liddle later said that BBC management told him to remove Frederick Forsyth from the show. He thought this was because of Forsyth's political views. The BBC said the decision was made for reasons related to the show's content.

Since January 2025, Rod Liddle has presented a Saturday morning show on Times Radio.

Television Programmes

Rod Liddle has presented several television programmes. These shows often explored different social and political topics.

Examining Beliefs in The New Fundamentalists

In March 2006, Liddle presented The New Fundamentalists. This programme was part of the Dispatches series. Liddle, who is a member of the Church of England, discussed the growth of evangelicalism and Christian fundamentalism in Britain. He was concerned about how these beliefs influenced faith schools, especially regarding the teaching of Darwinism. He also criticised the social teachings and cultural impact of this type of Christianity.

Discussing The Trouble with Atheism

Liddle also presented The Trouble with Atheism. In this programme, he argued that people who do not believe in God (atheists) can sometimes be as strict and unwilling to accept other ideas as religious people. Liddle said that the problem is not religion itself. Instead, he believed the problem is any way of thinking that insists one group is completely right and others are wrong. He argued that such thinking can lead to people being treated badly.

Looking at Immigration

In 2005, Channel 4 broadcast Liddle's programme Immigration Is a Time Bomb. This show discussed the topic of immigration. The broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, decided that the programme was fair.

Other Television Work

In April 2007, Liddle presented The Bible Revolution. This two-hour documentary looked at the history of William Tyndale's translation of the Bible into English. It also explored how this translation affected the English language. On 21 May 2007, he presented Battle for the Holy Land: Love Thy Neighbour. This hour-long documentary was about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Liddle visited places like Bethlehem and Hebron. He wanted to see if Israel was a truly fair democracy in how it treated Palestinians.

He also appeared on Channel 4's Come Dine with Me during an alternative election night episode. He was on the show with other public figures like Edwina Currie.

Liddle also co-presented Weekend, a short-lived political show on BBC2, and The Talk Show on BBC Four. He continued to write for The Guardian. He became an associate editor for The Spectator. He also writes a weekly column for The Sunday Times.

Later Journalism and Public Discussions

Rod Liddle has continued to write for various publications. His articles have sometimes led to public discussions and complaints.

Discussions About His Writing

In August 2009, Liddle wrote a blog post for The Spectator about Harriet Harman, a politician. He later said this article was meant to be a joke about sexism. He realised he had made a mistake after many people, including other journalists, criticised it. In June 2014, he said that Harriet Harman was the one person he would apologise to for his comments.

In November 2009, Liddle wrote another article for The Spectator website. He made sarcastic remarks about Somalis who had come to Britain. In December 2009, he wrote about two music producers who had plotted a crime. He made general comments about crime statistics in London. The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) received a complaint against Liddle. In March 2010, the PCC agreed with the complaint. Liddle was the first journalist to be criticised for content on a blog because he could not prove his claims about crime statistics.

In October 2010, Liddle wrote an article for The Spectator calling for the Welsh language TV channel S4C to be closed. He used strong and critical language to describe Welsh nationalists.

In May 2013, Liddle wrote about the murder of soldier Lee Rigby. He used a phrase to describe the attackers that many people found offensive. He later apologised for his choice of words.

In December 2021, Liddle gave a speech at Durham University. He stated that colonialism was not the main cause of Africa's problems. He also said that the lower educational success of some British and American people of African descent was not due to racism.

Rumours and Online Comments

In January 2010, there were rumours that Rod Liddle might become the editor of The Independent newspaper. However, reports about his posts on Millwall Online, a fan forum, seemed to reduce his chances of getting the job. In February, it was confirmed he was no longer being considered.

The press highlighted comments posted under the username "monkeymfc" on the Millwall Online forum. Liddle had used this name. Some comments were seen as racist or against women. Liddle said some comments were made by opposing fans trying to embarrass him. He admitted writing some of the criticised posts, including one supporting a political party's membership rules. He also made a joke about Auschwitz that caused controversy. In June 2014, he said his comments were taken out of context but that he did not regret making them.

Comments on Specific Groups

In November 2011, Liddle wrote an article for The Spectator about the trial of two men accused of murdering Stephen Lawrence. The article suggested the trial might not be fair. The judge referred the article to the Attorney General for possibly breaking court rules. The magazine was later fined for breaking reporting restrictions.

In January 2012, Liddle wrote in The Sun that many people in the UK were "pretending to be disabled." This opinion was criticised by others, who said he was making light of a serious issue that affects many people.

In May 2015, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) upheld a complaint against Liddle. This was because of two columns he wrote in The Sun in 2014 and 2015. These columns were seen as discriminatory towards Emily Brothers, a blind and transgender political candidate. IPSO found that Liddle had broken parts of the editors' code.

BBC Coverage of Nelson Mandela's Death

In December 2013, after Nelson Mandela died, Liddle wrote a blog post for The Spectator website. He said that the BBC's coverage of Mandela's death was too much.

Column on Poppers

During a debate in Parliament about a law on psychoactive substances, a politician mentioned using "poppers." Liddle responded in his Spectator blog. He made comments that were seen as critical and offensive towards gay men. The LGBT rights charity Stonewall called Liddle's remarks "shocking and damaging."

Appearance on Newsnight

On 15 July 2019, Liddle appeared on the BBC's Newsnight programme to discuss Brexit. The host, Emily Maitlis, asked Liddle if he would describe himself as racist. After the show, a complaint was made that Maitlis was unfair to Liddle. A BBC investigation agreed with the complaint, saying Maitlis was too "persistent and personal" in her criticism.

Column on Muslim Voters

In October 2019, Liddle wrote a column in The Spectator about the upcoming 2019 United Kingdom general election. He suggested that the election should be held on a Muslim holy day to reduce votes for the Labour Party. This column was criticised by important political figures. Liddle said the content was meant to be humorous. The article also criticised a Labour MP's speech about leaving an abusive relationship. The MP described the article as "racist and misogynistic."

Books Written by Rod Liddle

Rod Liddle has written several books throughout his career.

In 2003, he published a collection of short stories called Too Beautiful For You. He has often said that he always wanted to be a writer. He felt that journalism was a way to avoid that goal. He also wrote Love Will Destroy Everything (2007). He was a co-author of The Best of Liddle Britain (2007).

His semi-autobiographical book, Selfish Whining Monkeys: How we Ended Up Greedy, Narcissistic and Unhappy, came out in 2014. A reviewer for The Guardian said that the book showed Liddle's views over many pages. The reviewer felt that Liddle could change his "bilious complexion," meaning his often angry or critical way of writing. Liddle responded to this review by saying the reviewer focused on what he thought Liddle was, not what the book was about.

In July 2019, Liddle published The Great Betrayal. This book was about Brexit, which was the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union. The book received positive reviews from some, who called it a strong criticism of those who tried to stop Brexit. However, another reviewer for The Guardian said the book did not pay much attention to facts or logic.

Personal Life

Rod Liddle met Rachel Royce, a television presenter, at the BBC in 1993. They started a relationship. In January 2004, they got married in Malaysia. They lived in Heytesbury, Wiltshire, and had two sons named Tyler and Wilder. Six months later, Liddle moved in with Alicia Monckton, who was a receptionist at The Spectator. It was later revealed that he had ended his honeymoon with Royce early to be with Monckton.

After their divorce, Liddle and Royce made public comments about each other in the media. Liddle and Monckton married in September 2008. Their daughter, Emmeline, was born in October 2005. She was named after Emmeline Pankhurst, a famous supporter of women's right to vote.

Political Involvement

Rod Liddle has also been involved in politics. He joined the SDP in 2019. He said he joined because the party focuses on what citizens have in common, rather than their differences.

Liddle ran as a candidate for the SDP in the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland area during the 2024 United Kingdom general election. He came in fourth place in the election. The Labour Party won the seat, defeating the Conservative candidate.