Rebecca Jane Sutton (née Sutton-Gregory; born 1984 or 1985[1]) is a British media personality, solicitor, businesswoman and former politician who was deputy leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from October 2022 to January 2024.[2]
Rebecca Jane | |
|---|---|
| Deputy Leader of the UK Independence Party | |
| In office 17 October 2022 – 20 January 2024 | |
| Leader | Neil Hamilton |
| Preceded by | Pat Mountain |
| Succeeded by | Nick Tenconi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rebecca Jane Sutton 1984 or 1985 (age 39–40)[1] Barrowford, Lancashire, England |
| Political party | UK Independence Party (UKIP) |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 2 |
Life and career
editEarly life and The Real Lady Detective Agency
editRebecca Jane Sutton[3] was born in Barrowford, Lancashire, England. She once worked as a Marilyn Monroe lookalike,[1] and managed a property company, which went bankrupt in 2009 during the Great Recession. She later established The Lady Detective Agency, a private investigation company. She stopped working with front-line investigation to work in marketing because her husband's bosses found it compromising to his career.[4] In 2018 she sold her detective agency.[5]
In January 2013, HarperCollins published her book, The Real Lady Detective Agency, about her experiences.[6]
Later media appearances and political career
editOn 30 September 2012,[7] Jane appeared on the BBC's Dragon's Den.[8] In 2017, she was a housemate on the eighteenth series of Big Brother; entering the house alongside her agency employee Kieran Lee, however competing separately.[9] She lasted eighteen days in the house before becoming the third housemate to be evicted.[10] At the time of her Big Brother appearances, she was studying for a master's degree in law at the University of Central Lancashire.[11] Jane launched the 'Killing Catfish' campaign on ITV1's Loose Women in April 2017,[12] as a result of her investigative work for Matt Peacock, a victim of catfishing.[13] Between February 2021[14] and October 2022, she wrote for the Burnley Express; she left after being appointed deputy leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), and used her final column to note that she had joined "around 2.5 years ago" after her "former boss wanted to stand as an MP", and after she researched parties for him and found that UKIP's views reflected her own.[15] In June 2023, it was announced that she would be standing as a candidate in the 2023 Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, following the resignation of Boris Johnson. An article about UKIP published that month in The New European described Jane as a "far more proactive presence in the leadership" than its leader Neil Hamilton, that she "juggle[d] mental health work with GB News appearances", and that her "focus ha[d] been on attempts to unite the parties to the right of the Conservatives, which she refers to as "centre-right" or "splinter parties".[16] She came 14th of 17th, receiving 61 votes (0.2%).[17]
On 20 January 2024, Jane resigned from the position of Deputy Leader of UKIP;[2] she was not replaced until the retirement of party leader Neil Hamilton, with both replaced by Lois Perry and Nick Tenconi.[18]
Personal life
editJane married James[who?][4] in 2005, with whom she had a daughter, Paris, in 2006.[4]
Jane's second husband was the police officer Ben Dowlers, her childhood sweetheart. They have a daughter named Peach.[19] They divorced in 2015.[20]
Jane wrote in The Real Lady Detective Agency that she had "no sense of smell". When she was a baby, she pushed part of a pen up her nose and damaged her nerve endings.[4] She noted in a July 2022 Burnley Express article that she had suffered from five years of post-natal depression following Paris's birth, and that she almost died during the birth of Peach and suffered from PTSD as a result;[21] she mentioned in another article the following month that she suffered from a further bout of suicidal ideation in June 2021, following the ending of a relationship and her consequent forced departure from her job, the coverage in Sunday newspapers of her private life, and the abuse she suffered from as a result.[14]
References
edit- ^ a b c "10 friends form East Lancashire lady detective agency". Lancashire Telegraph. 24 November 2010. Archived from the original on 18 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
- ^ a b "UKIP loses Deputy Leader as Rebecca Jane resigns". searchlightmagazine.com. Searchlight Magazine. 22 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
- ^ "I beg to move, That this House has...: 18 Jul 2017: Westminster Hall debates". TheyWorkForYou. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
- ^ a b c d Jane, Rebecca (17 January 2013). The Real Lady Detective Agency: A True Story. HarperCollins UK. ISBN 978-0-00-748899-5.
- ^ "Enterpreneur sells female private investigation company". Insider Media. 24 January 2018. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ "Barrowford's Rebecca Jane - the woman behind The Real Lady Detective Agency". Lancashire Life. Archived from the original on 19 April 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
- ^ "Series 10, Episode 4". Dragons' Den. 30 September 2012.
- ^ "Blackpool to host women in business awards". www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "Big Brother fame beckons for Rebecca and Kieran". Burnley Express. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
- ^ "Big Brother's Rebeccca Jane becomes the third housemate to be evicted". Evening Standard. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
- ^ "Preston law student avoids early eviction on TV's Big Brother". www.lep.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "12 months in Lancashire – Part Two". 2BR. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "Kym Marsh on her 'Catfish' nightmare: 'Someone stole my identity and pretended to be me for 10 years!'". Archived from the original on 19 April 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
- ^ a b "Suicidal ideation". Burnley Express. Archived from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ "Burnley's outspoken Rebecca Jane named as new leader of UK Independence Party". Burnley Express. Archived from the original on 18 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ Withers, Matt (23 June 2023). "How Ukip came crashing down to earth". The New European. Archived from the original on 23 June 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- ^ "Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election 2023 results". Hillingdon Council. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ^ Moldoveanu, Rucsandra (13 May 2024). "UKIP's new leader is a climate denier and woke-mind-virus warrior". Nottinghamshire Live. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
- ^ "Northern Life talks to The Real Lady Detective, Rebecca Jane". Northernlifemagazine.co.uk. 17 May 2013. Archived from the original on 11 June 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ "Private investigator who made a fortune exposing cheating men reveals her own affair". New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 11 June 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ "I got parenting wrong?!". Burnley Express. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2023.