NEIL Oliver has announced he is stepping down as president of the National Trust for Scotland.
The TV presenter was heavily criticised last week after The National revealed he had liked an anti-Black Lives Matter tweet.
He will leave his post in September.
Oliver says he had always planned to do no more than a three-year stint at the head of the heritage organisation.
In a statement, the celebrity commentator said: “My three-year term as president comes to an end in September and, as I had intended, I will be stepping down from the role at the time. It’s been a complete privilege to work throughout the term and represent the Trust.
“I will look forward to seeing who replaces me in October and they will have my full support.”
Last Monday, Oliver replied to a post from former Brexit campaigner Darren Grimes promoting an interview with Starkey, writing: “Tell him I love him, by all means.”
During that interview – which was broadcast after Oliver's comment – Starkey claimed slavery “was not genocide otherwise there wouldn’t be so many damn blacks in Africa or Britain”.
READ MORE: NTS doubles down on Neil Oliver defence amid David Starkey row
The comments, condemned as racist, were the latest in a series of discriminatory remarks made by the historian. In 2015, Cambridge University was forced to take down an online fundraising video fronted by Starkey after staff and students claimed he had been “aggressively racist”.
Oliver also liked a tweet, posted on Wednesday, which praised a member of a sporting team for seemingly not “taking a knee”, a pose which has become synonymous with the anti-racism Black Lives Matter movement.
NTS condemned David Starkey’s “offensive” comments about slavery, but declined to criticise its president. A spokesperson told The National: “When stating his personal views, as in these recent cases, he is not representing the trust.”
Commenting on Oliver’s announcement that he will stand down, NTS chairman Sir Mark Jones, said: “Throughout his busy career as a broadcaster and author Neil has championed Scotland and its heritage and we are extremely grateful to him for giving up so much of his valuable time to represent the Trust.
“Since his appointment in 2017, he has striven to promote our work and achievements and in doing so elicited support on our behalf from many generous donors.”
Oliver has previously caused controversy by voicing hardline anti-independence views.
In 2015, he described the prospect of a second referendum as a “cancerous presence” and branding former First Minister Alex Salmond a “round, wrecking ball of a man, shaped only to do damage”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel