Oliver first appeared on television in the 2002 BBC Two series Two Men in a Trench, in which he and archaeologist Tony Pollard visited historic British battlefields. He was also a co-author of the two books accompanying the series. In 2006 he presented The Face of Britain for Channel 4 and Scotland's History: The Top Ten for the BBC. Early in his career he also appeared on The One Show and Time Team.
Oliver was a co-presenter of the first series of Coast in 2005 and replaced Nicholas Crane as the show's main presenter for the second, third, fourth and fifth series. He also presented Coast Australia (2013) and Coast New Zealand (2016).
In 2014 Oliver stated that he was "proud of Britain" ahead of the Scottish independence referendum, saying that "this kind of internecine squabbling puts my teeth on edge. I would rather that it would just go away—or that it had never happened" and that he "liked the status quo".[9] When he was appointed President of the National Trust for Scotland, thousands signed petitions calling on him to resign.[10] In 2020, Oliver reasserted his opposition to Scottish independence, describing the uncertainty caused by the prospect of a second referendum as a "cancerous presence" and saying that "I'm a British citizen, that's how I see myself. Not in an argumentative way, I don't see that I should have to cede my right to understand myself as I am to some politician."[11]
Covid-19
Commenting on the British government's response to the coronavirus pandemic in 2021, Oliver said, "Lockdown is the biggest single mistake in world history".[12] He also criticised the drive to vaccinate children in the UK against COVID-19,[13] and likened the fight against government anti-COVID measures to the fight against Nazi Germany.[14] Oliver's opposition to coronavirus restrictions led to his leaving the unionist campaign group These Islands. Tom Holland, an advisory board member of These Islands, said that Oliver's "current focus was not compatible with our own".[15] In January 2024, on GB News Oliver promoted the conspiracy theory that the coronavirus vaccine caused a condition called "turbo-cancer" in children.[16]
World government
During a monologue delivered on his GB News programme on 4 February 2023, Oliver spoke of a "silent war" waged by generations of politicians in order to take "total control of the people" and impose "one-world government". According to The Guardian, the monologue apparently referred to Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars, an alleged conspiracy theory document. The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the All-Party Parliamentary Group against Antisemitism both issued statements calling on GB News to stop indulging antisemitic conspiracy theories.[17][18]
In May 2023 Oliver retweeted an image featuring Bill Gates, writing "Bill Gates: the text book example of the danger posed by rich and powerful people utterly devoid of empathy or care for individual human life". According to The Jewish Chronicle, "The image features Nazi, Satanic, and Illuminati imagery with reference to the New World Order – a conspiracy involving a shadow totalitarian world government – Jeffrey Epstein, Dr Anthony Fauci – former chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden – the United Nations, and big pharma". Broadcaster Matthew Sweet commented that the image appeared "to make mockery of the Holocaust by depicting Bill Gates as a Nazi experimenter with a swastika and IG Farben logo, which is presumably a reference to slave labour in Auschwitz".[19]
Climate change
In July 2023, Oliver asserted on GB News that the "terrifying" temperatures reported during the heatwave in southern Europe were false and accused the BBC and others of fearmongering over climate change. He alleged that ground temperatures instead of air temperatures were being used. BBC meteorologist Tomasz Schafernaker answered the claims saying this was "absolutely not true".[20]
^"Neil Oliver: 'Lockdown is the biggest single mistake in world history'". HeraldScotland. 11 June 2021. Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021. I think it's been mishandled from very early on. I think it's the biggest mistake in world history. I'm not suggesting evil or malicious intent. I just think it's a mistake.
^"Covid: Neil Oliver tells GB News viewers giving children vaccine is 'grotesque'". The Herald. 5 July 2021. He claimed: "Never before in medical history has there been a proposal to vaccinate children against a disease that poses them no measurable harm. Added to this is the undeniable fact these vaccines for Covid are experimental, in that no data is available concerning long term effects."
^"Anger as Scots broadcaster Neil Oliver states he would 'cheerfully risk catching Covid' in name of freedom". HeraldScotland. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021. The Renfrewshire-born 54-year-old who was described as "divisive" by senior SNP members for his well known pro-Union anti-independence said "it was a minority of people, outgunned and shouted down by fellow citizens who felt deals might be struck with tyrants" who stood up against fascism during the Second World War and compared them to the minority of people who refuse to take the jab or comply with Covid rules.
^Tel: +44 (0)1382 308000 Ask a question (25 September 2009). "2012 | University of Abertay Dundee". Abertay.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 22 November 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^"Neil Oliver". Abertay. 2 June 2019. Archived from the original on 4 July 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
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