‘We have a clear agenda’: the teenager who broke news of Tory MP’s defection to Reform

Fri, 23 Jan 2026

Charlie Simpson, 15, is part of new generation of self-styled ‘independent journalists’ with links to far right

Andrew Rosindell had been tipped as a potential Reform recruit long before his defection from the Conservatives last weekend took Westminster by surprise.

Yet as he and Nigel Farage basked in the spotlight outside parliament on Monday, more than 200 miles away in the town of Whitby, North Yorkshire, a 15-year-old schoolboy was also savouring the moment.