LBC host James O'Brien has admitted that “ignorance” may have shaped his views on Welsh and Scottish independence.
The broadcaster – speaking on his show after the historic Celtic Alliance meeting this week, which saw the SNP, Sinn Fein and Plaid Cymru sign a historic agreement to put pressure on Westminster – said he has “always been a little bit dismissive of the independence movement”.
“The reason for that – the reason perhaps for my position – is ignorance,” O’Brien added.
“I had no idea about the effort put in by English governments to eradicate the Welsh language from the land of Wales.
“I didn't know about the Highland Clearances until they popped up in a historical fiction book I was reading, and I thought that I need to know a little bit more about this.”
The broadcaster then said: “And if I'd known about that, my feelings would be different.
“When people talked about Welsh nationalism or Welsh separatism or Welsh independence, my entire box of Lego bricks would have been differently constituted. So when I started building my opinion, I would have been building it with different bricks.
“But I didn't know about that. I don't like being that bloke.”
‘I hate being that bloke.’ James O’Brien believes he’s been ‘gaslit’ over Scottish, Welsh and Irish independence… pic.twitter.com/2JBtulAUvq
— LBC (@LBC) September 15, 2026
Scottish First Minister John Swinney, Welsh first minister Rhun ap Iorwerth and Northern Ireland first minister Michelle O'Neill held a landmark press conference in Cardiff on Monday morning to sign a memorandum of understanding as they declared “Westminster’s time is coming to an end”.
Along with Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald, who is the leader of the opposition in the Irish Dáil, the leaders called on the UK Government to “prepare for, plan and facilitate constitutional change”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said in response to the meeting: “The Prime Minister is committed to delivering change across all four nations of the United Kingdom and believes strongly in the Union.
“The United Kingdom is at its best when people come together around our shared values and problem-solving, rather than division, and the Prime Minister will continue to ease pressures on household finances, and deliver greater economic security, rather than engaging in constitutional debates or further referendums.”
