Nigel Farage involved in talks about bid to buy Talk Radio for £15m

Nigel Farage has been involved in talks about a bid to buy national radio station Talk Radio from Rupert Murdoch for £15 million, The Telegraph understands.

The Brexit Party leader said two meetings with financial backers had been held to try to buy the national radio station from News UK, which is controlled by the billionaire media mogul.

Mr Farage said he was also considering establishing a YouTube channel allowing him a platform to comment daily on the Conservative Government's policies.

The moves by Mr Farage will be seen as further evidence of attempts by major figures on the right of British politics to take over a bigger slice of the UK's broadcasting market.

News UK, which earlier this year launched Times Radio, is said to have put a £15 million price tag on Talk Radio, where regular presenters include Julia Hartley-Brewer, James Max and Penny Smith.

One source said Mr Farage had been "looking to put together a small group of investors to come on board".

Mr Farage lost his presenting job at LBC in June after he compared the Black Lives Matter movement to "a new form of Taliban" after the statue of Edward Colston was tipped into Bristol harbour by anti-racism protesters.  

Denying he was leading a consortium to buy Talk Radio, Mr Farage told The Telegraph: "I am arms length from this. As I understand it there have been discussions and I don't think it has got anywhere.

"A conversation was had, a couple of meetings were had, but I don't think it has developed into anything."

He added: "I am thinking about what I am going to do next. Clearly I am interested in talk radio, if LBC don't want me maybe Talk are the people to speak to or maybe I will just do my own thing."

Mr Farage said he was approached by investors after he set up a media channel under the Farage.media brand to give him a regular platform to comment on Government policies.

He said: "I have the domain name registered as a result of that other people who were thinking of doing stuff in the radio space world came and spoke to me about ideas, not just Talk but other stations as well."

He added that there was a huge appetite for broadcasters to challenge the "woke agenda". 

A spokesman for News UK – which owns Talk Radio through the Wireless Group – said: "Talk Radio has a growing audience and is not for sale".

Last weekend Mr Farage said he could restart his Brexit Party if Boris Johnson does a deal "that will not fully satisfy many Brexiteers", strongly hinting that the PM will compromise on state aid rules.

He said: "Let’s see where they go with this but if they completely drop the ball on Brexit, if we finish up stuck with a level playing field, unable to be competitive, then there are more battles to be fought."

Downing Street has been quietly encouraging more right-of-centre figures to take leading roles in the UK's broadcasting industry to counter the perceived left-wing bias of the BBC.

Paul Dacre, the former editor of the Daily Mail, has been sounded out to chair Ofcom, the media regulator, while Sir Robbie Gibb, a former Downing Street head of communications, is in the running to be chairman of the BBC.

Broadcaster Andrew Neil is also leading plans for GB News, which describes itself as "Britain's News Channel" with an anti-metropolitan focus.

Mr Neil said last month: "GB News is the most exciting to happen in British television news for more than 20 years.

"We will champion robust balanced debate and a range of perspectives on the issues that affect everyone in the UK, not just those living in the London area."