Darren Grimes(born 22 July 1993[1]) is a Britishright-wing[2]political commentator and activist. ALiberal Democratactivist before dropping out of university, he then worked for a number ofBrexitcampaigns. He set up the website Reasoned in May 2020.
Darren Grimes | |
|---|---|
 Grimes in 2021 | |
| Born | 22 July 1993 Consett,County Durham,England |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Tanfield School |
| Occupation(s) | Digital manager, political activist |
Early life
Grimes grew up in a single-parent household inConsett,County Durham,England.[3]He is openly gay.[4]He studied fashion and business studies at theUniversity of Brightonbut did not complete his degree.[5]
Activism
While at university, Grimes was an activist for theLiberal Democrats,and worked for then-MPNorman Lamb'sunsuccessful 2015 party leadership campaign.[6]In summer 2015 he was interviewed by the BBC about his admiration for former Lib Dem leaderCharles Kennedy,praising Kennedy's vocal pro-EU stance and saying it could have helped the Remain side in the forthcoming referendum: "He believed that in an increasingly globalised world, having Britain in Europe was the only way forward. And I think that's the message the party needs pushing."[7]
However, by the following year Grimes' political stance had changed and he founded the pro-BrexitgroupBeLeaveaimed at younger voters during the2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendumcampaign.[8]
Grimes later dropped out of university, and between 2016 and 2018, he worked as a deputy editor for the political website BrexitCentral, founded byMatthew Elliott,the formerVote Leavechief executive.[9]In 2018, he became the digital manager for theInstitute of Economic Affairs(IEA), afree marketthink tank.[10]
In 2019, he was amongst those associated with a newly launchedright-wingyouth organisationcalledTurning Point UK(TPUK), set up byConservative Partydonor and unsuccessfulBrexit PartyMEP candidate George Farmer.[11]It is closely allied toTurning Point USA,a pro-Trumpyouth movement.[12]
In May 2020 Grimes launched Reasoned, a website aimed at those "standing against the tide" who "hide [their] political views for fear of being called homophobic, aTERF,[or] racist ".[13]It is a rebranding of a previous conservative youth group called Reason, and is backed by the son of formerBrexit PartyMEPLance Forman.According to the satirical magazinePrivate Eye,a video was released in 2020 by Grimes on Reasoned that appeared to be a near word-for-word copy of a video released by the USright-wingplatformPragerU.[14]Facebookadverts for the group placed in 2018 were paid for by "Your Channel Media", a company owned and run by TPUK chief executive Oliver Anisfeld.[15][better source needed]
In July 2020, an interview with the historianDavid Starkeythat Grimes published on his video platform sparked controversy. The historian remarked that "Slaverywas notgenocide,otherwise there wouldn't be so many damn blacks in Africa or in Britain, would there? "[16]This prompted criticism, including condemnation by formerChancellor of the ExchequerSajid Javid,and Grimes tweeted that "I reject in the strongest possible terms what Dr Starkey said in that clip and so very wish I'd caught it at the time."[16]TheMetropolitan Policeopened an investigation into Grimes on the suspicion ofstirring up racial hatred,and requested to interview Grimes. The former director of public prosecutionsKen Macdonaldcalled the investigation "deeply threatening of free speech",[17]a view which was echoed by some Conservative Party MPs.[18]The investigation concluded without any charges being brought.[19]
In July 2021, Grimes sent a tweet toMarcus Rashfordfollowing theEngland football team's defeat in theEuro 2020 Finalat which Rashford missed a penalty kick. Grimes tweeted: "Honestly though @MarcusRashford, penalties not politics from now on, aye?", referring to Rashford's successful lobbying to extend the provision of free school meals.[20]Grimes' comment was criticised by various people on social media as insensitive.[20]
Electoral Commission case
In 2018, Grimes was fined £20,000 by theElectoral Commissionafter it determined that there was evidence thatBeLeavehad spent more than £675,000 with the Canadian political consultancy firmAggregateIQin coordination with the officialBrexitcampaign organisationVote Leavein distribution targeted social media advertisements.[21]The Commission argued that these actions violated electoral spending rules, and that both Grimes and Vote Leave official David Alan Halsall had made false declarations relating to the spending. Grimes appealed, claiming that his misstatements were unintentional. He won the appeal and his fine was overturned;[22]Vote Leave, however, withdrew its appeal and paid fines totalling £61,000.[23]Subsequently, in May 2020, theMetropolitan Policeended its investigation into Grimes and Halsall.[24]In June 2021, the Chairman of the Electoral Commission apologised to Grimes in aSunday Telegraphinterview.[25]
Broadcasting
In January 2022, Grimes began presenting his own weekend show onGB NewscalledReal Britain.[26]He left the show in November 2022.[27]
In April 2023 he returned to GB News, co-hosting a Saturday night show and as a stand-in for several presenters, includingNeil Oliver.[citation needed]
Allegations of sexual misconduct
In October 2023,Byline Timespublished allegations against Grimes relating to “persistentsexual harassmentof a juniorstraightmale colleague” while working at GB News. While the complainant was said to be offered a role elsewhere at the channel in response, a source told the outlet that the channel’s safeguarding processes “amounted to letting them know by text when Grimes was due to be in the studio, so he could avoid him.” Fellow hostDan Wootton,who has since departed from GB News following his involvement in the Laurence Fox GB News Scandal and was investigated by theMetropolitan Policein relation to sexual misconduct of his own,[28]is said to have advocated for Grimes in a subsequent misconduct hearing.[29]
See also
References
- ^@darrengrimes_ (22 July 2018)."Guys, I'm 25 now*. RIP me"(Tweet).Retrieved12 January2020– viaTwitter.
- ^"Police drop investigation into Darren Grimes and David Starkey over slavery comments in interview".21 October 2020. Archived fromthe originalon 10 August 2022.Retrieved10 August2022.
- ^"#InMyShoes: Darren Grimes – Killing Aspiration".BBC News.30 March 2015.Retrieved30 December2019.
- ^Birnbaum, Sarah (29 March 2017)."This young, LGBT advocate isn't your average Brexiteer".Public Radio International.Retrieved30 December2019.
- ^McKinney, CJ (14 February 2019)."Brexit-backing former Brighton Uni fashion student raises £77,000 in fight against 'top lawyers in the land'".Legal Cheek.Retrieved30 December2019.
- ^Waterson, Jim (17 July 2018)."Darren Grimes: the pro-Brexit student activist fined £20k".The Guardian.Retrieved30 December2019.
- ^"Why 'chat show Charlie' mattered to politics".BBC News.2 June 2015.
- ^"Vote Leave: Activist to give MPs evidence of 'rule breaking'".BBC News.26 March 2018.Retrieved31 December2019.
- ^"Matthew Elliott: Welcome to BrexitCentral".BrexitCentral.11 September 2016.Retrieved30 December2019.
- ^"Institute of Economic Affairs appoints new Digital Manager, Darren Grimes"(Press release). Institute of Economic Affairs. 5 June 2018.Retrieved30 December2019.
- ^Myers, Fraser (15 March 2019)."Turning Point: 'owning' the libs won't save free speech".Spiked Magazine.Retrieved22 July2020.
- ^Di Stefano, Mark; Spence, Alex."Days After Its Disastrous British Launch, Turning Point Has Already Lost One Of Its Star Recruits".BuzzFeed.Retrieved10 July2020.
- ^"Darren Grimes, a gay man, wants 'homophobes' to 'come out of the closet' and join his new website. Yes, he actually said this".PinkNews.29 May 2020.Retrieved3 July2020.
- ^"What a true BeLeaver did next".Private Eye(1523). London. 5 June 2020. Archived fromthe originalon 14 June 2020.
- ^"'New' Tory youth movement is failed think-tank project ".The Red Roar.27 May 2020. Archived fromthe originalon 16 January 2021.Retrieved10 December2020.
- ^ab"David Starkey criticised over slavery comments".BBC News.3 July 2020.Retrieved23 November2020.
- ^Hamilton, Fiona."Prosecutor criticises 'sinister' Met for investigating Darren Grimes over interview".The Times.Retrieved13 October2020.
- ^Dixon, Hayley (11 October 2020)."Dame Cressida Dick facing questions over 'politically motivated' investigation into Darren Grimes".The Telegraph.Retrieved13 October2020.
- ^"David Starkey: Police end investigation into interview with Darren Grimes".BBC News.21 October 2020.Retrieved14 July2021.
- ^ab"Darren Grimes slammed for 'vile' Marcus Rashford tweet".www.indy100.com.12 July 2021.
- ^"Brexit campaigner Darren Grimes raising funds to appeal against fine".BBC News.25 July 2018.
- ^"Pro-Brexit activist wins appeal against £20,000 electoral spending fine".The Guardian.19 July 2019.
- ^"Investigation: Vote Leave Ltd, Mr Darren Grimes, BeLeave and Veterans for Britain".Electoral Commission. 14 August 2019.Retrieved31 December2019.
- ^"Met Police end probe into pro-Brexit campaigners".BBC News.8 May 2020.Retrieved8 May2020.
- ^Malnick, Edward (26 June 2021)."Britain's election watchdog stands 'ready' to organise indyref2".The Telegraph.ISSN0307-1235.Retrieved28 June2021.
- ^"Brexit campaigner Darren Grimes joins GB News with 'Real Britain' show".14 December 2021.
- ^Grimes, Darren [@darrengrimes_](4 November 2022)."Sadly, my GB News show, Real Britain, is ending in a few weeks. I want to make its last few episodes on air the best of all. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to those who have loyally tuned in and supported me and the channel – it has been the greatest ride of my life! ❤️"(Tweet).Retrieved7 November2022– viaTwitter.
- ^Evans, Dan; Latchem, Tom (2 October 2023)."Police Investigating Dan Wootton Over Allegations of 10-Year Catfishing Campaign Following Byline Times' Special Investigation".Byline Times.Retrieved18 October2023.
- ^Evans, Dan; Latchem, Tom (2 October 2023)."Five GB News Men Accused of Sexual Impropriety as Channel Engulfed by Wootton-Fox Misogyny Storm".Byline Times.Retrieved2 October2023.