IAN BIRRELL
– Contributing editor of The Mail on Sunday and Daily Mail for foreign reporting and investigations. Weekly column in the ‘i’ paper. Regular columnist for UnHerd. Also written for The Times, The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Sun, The Spectator, Tortoise and The Wall Street Journal among others.
– Foreign correspondent who has reported from more than 60 countries from Albania to Zimbabwe.
– Winner of 11 major journalism awards over past 11 years: Feature Writer of the Year (2024) in British Press Awards. Public Service Journalism (2023) at British Journalism Awards. Freelance Journalist of the Year (2022) in Society of Editors Media Freedom Awards. The Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils (2020). Feature Writer of the Year (2020) in British Press Awards. News reporting (2019) at Amnesty International media awards. Health Reporter (2018) in British Press Awards. Popular Journalism in British Journalism Awards (2018). Foreign Reporter of the Year (2015) and Columnist of the Year (2015) in British Press Awards – a unique double triumph. Edgar Wallace Award (2013) for fine writing and reporting at London Press Club.
– Highly commended as Foreign Reporter (2011), Feature Writer (2013, 2017, 2018 & 2022) and Reporting Diversity (2019) in British Press Awards plus as Feature Writer (2023) at British Journalism Awards. Shortlisted in 46 other awards since 2011.
– Frequent broadcaster on television and radio, including Newsnight, Channel 4 News, The Andrew Marr Show, Dateline London, Today, PM, 5Live and The World Tonight. Presented & wrote BBC Panorama documentary on Texas prison reforms. Presented & wrote Tortoise podcast on Ukraine’s Stolen Children.
– Held senior executive positions at The Sunday Times, Daily Mail and Sunday Express before becoming deputy editor-in-chief of The Independent for 12 years, leaving in March 2010.
– Adviser and speech-writer for David Cameron in the run-up to the 2010 general election.
– Founder and joint curator of Britain’s first Politics Festival, launched at Kings Place, London, in June 2017.
– Regular speaker at events and adviser to clients on crisis management, media training, public relations, change and transparency.
– Co-founder with Damon Albarn of Africa Express, which promotes African music and unites musicians from around the world. Organised trips to five African nations; staged acclaimed concerts in the UK, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Spain, Turkey, South Africa and Nigeria; taken a train filled with musicians around Britain as part of the Olympic festivities; and re-formed a Syrian orchestra & choir to tour Europe.
– Executive producer of five albums: ‘Africa Express presents…’, a compilation of African music selected by Western artists; ‘Africa Express presents…Maison des Jeunes’, an album of new Malian music; ‘Africa Express presents…Terry Riley’s In C Mali’, the first African recording of the minimalist classic which was debuted at Tate Modern; ‘Africa Express presents…The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians’, a live album of reformed orchestra from 2016 European tour; ‘Africa Express presents…EGOLI’, an album of new South African music.
– Married with two children, the youngest of whom has profound and multiple learning difficulties.