Inaya Folarin Iman (born 8 November 1996) is a British

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, commentator, a panelist on the BBC Radio show

Moral Maze ''Moral Maze'' is a live discussion programme on BBC Radio 4, broadcast since 1990. Since November 2011, it has also been available as a podcast. Structure Four regular panellists discuss morality, moral and ethics, ethical issues raised by a r ...

, and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

who has presented for

GB News GB News is a British free-to-air, editorial, opinion-orientated television and radio news channel. The channel is available on Freeview (UK), Freeview, Freesat, Sky UK, Sky, YouView, Virgin Media and via the internet on Samsung TV Plus, LG web ...

. She is also the director and founder of the Equiano Project (named after

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

Olaudah Equiano Olaudah Equiano (; c. 1745 – 31 March 1797), known for most of his life as Gustavus Vassa (), was a writer and abolitionist. According to his memoir, he was from the village of Essaka in present day southern Nigeria. Enslaved as a child in ...

), which describes itself as "a debate, discussion and ideas forum" that "focus son race, culture and politics". A 2023 conference held by the organisation was described as a “wonderful and inspiring gathering” by

Ian Leslie Ian Craig Leslie OAM (born 6 July 1942) is an Indonesian-born Australian television journalist and corporate communicator. Early life Ian Craig Leslie was born in Java, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Leslie was born one of twins in Ba ...

. In September 2021, she was appointed as a trustee for the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

in London. Iman was signed by GB News, a news channel that began broadcasting in June 2021. On the channel, she hosted a weekly culture and politics show, ''The Discussion'', which aired every Sunday until May 2022. In 2023, Iman became a regular panellist for the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

programme '' The Moral Maze''.

Early life

Born in

Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre-Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The name is of Anglo-Saxon ori ...

, south London, in 1996, Iman is the daughter of Mobolaji Atinuke Anike. She is of

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

n descent. She was educated at

Hockerill Anglo-European College Hockerill Anglo-European College (formerly known as Hockerill School) is an international state boarding school with academy status located in Bishop's Stortford, England. History In 1850, Hockerill was founded as a teacher-training colle ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, St John Fisher Roman Catholic School in Chatham,

Tonbridge Grammar School Tonbridge Grammar School is a state school, state Grammar school, grammar school in Tonbridge, Kent, United Kingdom. The school was established in 1905 at the Technical Institute in Avebury Avenue Tonbridge, having only 19 enrolled students. Th ...

, and the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

, where she gained a BA in Arabic and

International Relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

in 2019.

Political views

A supporter of

Britain's withdrawal from the EU Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET). The UK, which joined th ...

and former

Brexit Party Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...

candidate, Iman was a founding board member of the

Free Speech Union The Free Speech Union (FSU) is a British organisation with the stated mission of campaigning for freedom of speech and standing up for the speech rights of its members. It was incorporated on 20 November 2019 by British columnist Toby Young. The ...

and was a former project manager for

Index on Censorship Index on Censorship is an organisation campaigning for freedom of expression. It produces a quarterly magazine of the same name from London. It is directed by the non-profit-making Writers and Scholars International, Ltd (WSI) in association wit ...

. Iman has criticised

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

, seeing the movement as an "

opportunist 300px, ''Opportunity Seized, Opportunity Missed'', engraving by Theodoor Galle, 1605 Opportunism is the practice of taking advantage of circumstances — with little regard for principles or with what the consequences are for others. Opport ...

ic pretext for an outpouring of

self-righteous Self-righteousness (also called sanctimony, sententiousness, and holier-than-thou attitudes) is an attitude and belief of Moral high ground, moral superiority derived from a person deeming their own beliefs, actions, or affiliations to be of gre ...

rage". Following the

murder of George Floyd On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black American man, was murdered in Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old White police officer. Floyd had been arrested after a store clerk reported that he made a purchase using a c ...

, Iman criticised comparisons between black people's experiences in the United Kingdom and the United States. Alongside Andrew Doyle,

Claire Fox Claire Regina Fox, Baroness Fox of Buckley (born 5 June 1960), is a British writer, journalist, lecturer and politician who sits in the House of Lords as a non-affiliated life peer. She is the director and founder of the think tank the Academy ...

and others, she was co-signator of a letter in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' which said that "

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

s and institutions seem to have seized the opportunity to exploit Floyd's death to promote an

ideological An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...

agenda that threatens to undermine British

race relations Race relations is a sociological concept that emerged in Chicago in connection with the work of sociologist Robert E. Park and the Chicago race riot of 1919. Race relations designates a paradigm or field in sociology and a legal concept in th ...

. ... We must oppose and expose the racial division being sown in the name of

anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

." She has also criticised gestures such as "

taking the knee Taking the knee (or taking a knee) is a symbolic gesture against racism whereby an individual kneels upon one knee in place of standing to attention for an anthem or other such occasion. It was originated by American football player Colin Kaep ...

" against racism, which she sees as part of a

culture war A culture war is a form of cultural conflict (metaphorical " war") between different social groups who struggle to politically impose their own ideology (moral beliefs, humane virtues, and religious practices) upon mainstream society, or upon ...

. Writing for '' Spiked'', she rejected the claims of BLM that Britain is a racist society, saying that in the UK, "

racial equality Racial equality is when people of all Race (human categorization), races and Ethnic group, ethnicities are treated in an egalitarian/equal manner. Racial equality occurs when institutions give individuals legal, moral, and Civil and political r ...

is near achieved and so-called

structural racism A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

has been almost totally eradicated". She has written for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

,'' '' Spiked'', and other national publications. She regularly features and makes appearances on ''

Politics Live ''BBC Politics Live'' is a weekday BBC News lunchtime political programme which launched on 3 September 2018. It broadcasts when the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Parliament is in session and during the three-week party conference season. T ...

'', ''

The Big Questions ''The Big Questions'' was an interfaith dialogue and ethics television programme usually presented by Nicky Campbell. It was broadcast live on BBC One on Sunday mornings, replacing ''The Heaven and Earth Show'' as the BBC's religious discussion ...

'', ''

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...

'', '' Good Morning Britain'', '' Sunday Morning Live'', and '' Question Time''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iman, Inaya Folarin 1996 births Living people 21st-century Black British women Alumni of the University of Leeds Black British women writers Black British writers British people of Nigerian descent British political commentators GB News newsreaders and journalists People educated at Tonbridge Grammar School People from Tooting Reform UK politicians