TalkTV rebuked for failing to disclose reporter’s Reform Party ties in migrant crossing story

TalkTV, Rupert Murdoch’s online news channel, is under fire for not revealing that the journalist who made the perilous small‑boat journey to the UK for a documentary is a member and activist of the Reform Party.

The channel unveiled a “world exclusive” this week, describing the treacherous voyage that made former builder turned journalist Christian Drogan the first British man “to invade his own country”.

The documentary, Invading Britain: The Undercover Migrant Returns, premiered on TalkTV’s YouTube channel, chronicling a year‑long attempt to board a small craft and cross the English Channel from France to England.

Small‑boat crossings constitute Reform UK’s flagship issue under Nigel Farage. Drogan’s report was subsequently covered by other media, including The Times, The Telegraph and The Sun.

However, TalkTV omitted any mention that Drogan has previously declared himself a Reform Party member who aspires to seek elected office for the party.

In a June interview on Reform’s podcast, Drogan said, “I’m a Reform Party member. I attend my branch meetings. I would like to stand at some level … that’s my official tie with Reform.”

Media critic Mic Wright, who highlighted Drogan’s political background, argued that viewers should be fully informed about the reporter’s affiliations, especially as his story aligns with Reform’s policy focus.

Wright said: “It is fair enough to go and do this activity, but he’s not being represented as what he is – which is a Reform activist. He is not being presented in his totality. If someone who was a member of the Labour party was on a podcast saying they were a Labour member … and then they went out and made a piece of media and an investigation that was machine‑tooled to fit with the campaigning lines of the Labour party, Reform would say: ‘Well, this is ridiculous – this is Labour propaganda.’ It is deceptive to the viewers, readers and listeners of these titles and broadcasters.”

Isabel Oakeshott, TalkTV’s international editor—who is married to Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice and collaborated with Drogan on the documentary—dismissed the criticism.

“This is a truly desperate attempt to find something negative to say about an exposé that is very uncomfortable for all those who keep making excuses about Channel migrant crossings,” she said. “There is nothing deceptive about repeatedly risking your life to establish the truth about the ongoing invasion of our country. In any case, it is abundantly clear, in both the documentary itself and accompanying TalkTV coverage, that this groundbreaking investigation was led by me. My political links could hardly be more public. The extraordinary footage obtained by my colleague Christian Drogan speaks for itself. How he chooses to vote is his own business.”

Drogan said his motivation was “getting to the heart of the biggest issues facing our country”.

“I’m a working‑class lad from the north of England, watching my country change before my eyes,” he said in a statement. “The camera doesn’t lie. Video footage and audio recordings used to evidence an investigation are about as pure as you can get when it comes to trying to find and document issues that others would prefer to hide and deny.”

News UK, the Murdoch‑owned company that operates TalkTV, declined to comment.

Drogan contributes to the “citizen journalism” platform Watchman. He also shares content on social media and has previously appeared on TalkTV as a reporter covering a Belfast riot earlier this year.

Among other media outlets covering Drogan’s channel crossing, only The Times appears to have noted that he was “a journalist who has campaigned for Reform UK”.

During a TalkTV appearance, Farage confirmed that Drogan’s description of the crossings as “a national security emergency” mirrored the phrasing Farage himself uses.

“These are aggressive, dangerous young males,” Farage remarked. “There are those who ask whether some could become a force—perhaps even an army—within the country. I don’t think we’re there yet, but the risk remains.”

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