Controversial TV presenter Neil Oliver quietly parted company with a pro-union campaign group because his “current focus” was not compatible with theirs, according to another member of the organisation.
The GB News figure and Coast presenter had joined the advisory council of the These Islands think-tank with a flurry of publicity in November 2020.
The end of the formal relationship was revealed by historian Tom Holland on social media in response to criticism about some of Mr Oliver’s views aired on the new TV channel.
The partnership appeared to have ended without fanfare as far back as January this year, when he was removed from the These Islands advisory council list.
The think-tank was set up to promote the value of the UK in response to calls for Scottish independence.
We mutually agreed that his current focus was not compatible with our own”
– Tom Holland
Mr Oliver had written an essay on his views of Britishness in November last year. It was still hosted on the site at the time of writing.
In a recently shared GB News clip, Mr Oliver said the public has been put in a “toxic trance” about Covid.
He claimed people were blinded by “mass hypnosis” and said scientists had “unlearned” science.
‘Mutually agreed’
“With fear on the wane it was plainly time to cast another spell,” he went on, in a piece to camera which also veered into a discussion of gender politics and race.
Mr Holland responded to one critic who asked if he was still on the advisory council.
“We mutually agreed that his current focus was not compatible with our own,” he wrote.
Mr Oliver was announced as a signing for GB News in April.
He was well know for his appearances in the BBC’s Coast programmes.