Page 3 Profile: Iain Dale, political blogger and publisher

Iain Dale, political blogger and publisher. Chris Ison/PA Wire

He looks like a placid chap, who is he?

Don’t be deceived. As well as being a blogger, apparently Iain Dale is an amateur wrestler too.

Really? Did he win a tournament or something?

He’s more into impromptu outdoor matches it seems. He is usually occupied with writing his political blog Iain Dale’s Diary and running a publishing firm. However, while his publishing client Damian McBride was being interviewed on TV about his memoirs, Dale spotted a protester trying to get a sign into shot. From then on, things got a bit ugly.

He’s not really an amateur wrestler, is he…

No, but rather a very overprotective publisher. You might remember the man Dale grappled with as Stuart Holmes, the homeless pensioner who has been protesting about nuclear power at political events since 1984. He once interrupted a speech by Gordon Brown during a general election. Mr Holmes spotted the interview taking place on Brighton seafront and shuffled into shot. Dale was quick to seize him by the backpack, and soon enough the pair were rolling about on the pavement. Mr Holmes’ dog, also called Stuart, who was wearing a tiny anti-nuke placard, was so confused he started biting his owner.

Why was Dale so excited, does he not get out much?

In fact, he’s often on TV and has a degree in German, linguistics and teaching English as a foreign language. He spent his gap year as a nursing assistant in Germany, so we can only hope he was gentler with his patients. After doing various jobs, including being a research assistant for a Conservative MP, he opened up a bookshop in 1997, using the shop’s brand to start up his publishing company.

Where now for him? WWE?

It seems like this was a one-off. He said: “I did what any self-respecting publisher would do. I was determined this idiot shouldn’t disrupt what was an important interview for my author.” Hopefully a kind Brightonian hippy will have offered him some Camomile tea and a hemp face mask to calm him down.