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Ian Birrell

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Ian Birrell
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Aberdeen
OccupationJournalist

Ian Birrell is a British journalist and former speechwriter to Prime Minister David Cameron.[1] He has been a columnist at several newspapers including the i and UnHerd.[2][3] From 1998 to 2010, Birrell was deputy editor-in-chief of The Independent.

Education

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Birrell was educated at Ampleforth College,[4] a Roman Catholic boarding independent school for boys (now coeducational), in the village of Ampleforth in North Yorkshire, followed by the University of Aberdeen.[4]

Journalism

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Birrell has reported as a foreign correspondent for British newspapers from Egypt, Haiti, Iraq, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Syria, and others.[5][6][7]

Birrell is a campaigner for the rights of people with learning disabilities and autism who are locked up in British psychiatric institutions. He has investigated and written extensively on this issue and has received several awards for this work.[8][9][10][11][12]

Birrell reported on the case of 12-year-old Billy Caldwell from Northern Ireland who needed medical cannabis for his epilepsy and was forced to go overseas to get it as it was illegal in Britain. The report created a scandal that forced the British government to change the law and legalize medical cannabis.[13][14]

Television and radio

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Birrell presented the BBC Panorama programme Tough Justice that featured Michael Gove[15]

Sky News All Out Politics podcast What Next for Global Britain, hosted by Adam Boulton[16]

The Andrew Marr Show[17]

Music

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Birrell co-founded the charity Africa Express with musician Damon Albarn to encourage collaboration between African, Middle Eastern and Western musicians[18] Birrell was executive producer of the Africa Express albums Presents (2009)[19] and Terry's in C Mali[20] (2015).

Awards

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  • Edgar Wallace Award (2013)[21]
  • Foreign Reporter of the Year Society of Editors Press Awards (2015)[22]
  • Press Awards Foreign Reporter of the Year (2015)[23]
  • Popular Journalism Award, British Journalism Awards (2018)[24]
  • Health Journalist of the Year, British Press Awards (2018)[25]
  • Health Journalist of the Year, Editor's Press Awards (2019)[26]
  • Amnesty UK Media Award- News- Locked up for Autism 2019[27]
  • The Orwell Prize - Exposing Britain's social evils 2020 [28]

Personal life

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Birrell has a daughter, Ione, who suffers from severe epilepsy.[29]

References

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  1. ^ "Ian Birrell". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Ian Birrell - inews.co.uk". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Ian Birrell, a writer for UnHerd". UnHerd. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  4. ^ a b Birrell, Ian (22 October 2005). "The hell I share with David Cameron". The Spectator (political magazine). Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  5. ^ Birrell, Ian (11 April 2019). "The Arab Spring is still unfurling". Unherd. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  6. ^ Birrell, Ian (13 February 2011). "We help the dictators to steal". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  7. ^ Birrell, Ian (26 August 2012). "Our image of Africa is hopelessly obsolete". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  8. ^ "'It is devastating to see how hopeless she is': Detaining people with special needs is inhumane". inews.co.uk. 29 November 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  9. ^ Birrell, Ian (12 July 2020). "'They are making people worse': The scandal of imprisoning patients with autism". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  10. ^ Birrell, Ian (15 January 2021). "Lockdown has exposed Britain's callous indifference towards disabled people". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  11. ^ Birrell, Ian (21 October 2019). "A teenager with autism was caged like a dangerous creature. When will the Government act?". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  12. ^ Birrell, Ian (12 February 2020). "Matt Hancock facing legal challenge over 'repeated failures' in autism care". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  13. ^ McRedmond, Finn (22 June 2018). "How the government's cannabis policy went up in smoke". Reaction. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  14. ^ Monaghan, Mark; Wincup, Emma; Hamilton, Ian (2021). "Scandalous decisions: explaining shifts in UK medicinal cannabis policy". Addiction. 116 (7): 1925–1933. doi:10.1111/add.15350. ISSN 1360-0443. PMID 33404120. S2CID 230784833.
  15. ^ "Panorama, Season 63, Episode 39, Tough Justice: Texas Style | Alexander Street, a ProQuest Company". search.alexanderstreet.com. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  16. ^ "All Out Politics podcast: What next for 'Global Britain?'". Sky News. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  17. ^ "Andrew Marr Show newspaper review". BBC News. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  18. ^ "Africa Express (organization)", Wikipedia, 14 February 2021, retrieved 22 February 2021
  19. ^ Africa Express – Africa Express Presents... (2009, CD), retrieved 22 February 2021
  20. ^ Africa Express – Terry Riley's In C Mali (2015, CD), retrieved 22 February 2021
  21. ^ "Ian Birrell". Human Rights Foundation. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  22. ^ "SoE Press Awards 2015 – the winners". www.inpublishing.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  23. ^ Guardian Staff (23 March 2016). "Press Awards for 2015: full list of winners". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  24. ^ "National Press Awards Winners – Society of Editors".
  25. ^ "Ian Birrell, Author at inews.co.uk". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  26. ^ Mayhew, Freddy (3 April 2019). "Times titles win big at Society of Editors' Press Awards". Press Gazette. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  27. ^ "Amnesty Media Awards 2019 winners announced". www.amnesty.org.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  28. ^ "Ian Birrell | The Orwell Foundation". www.orwellfoundation.com. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  29. ^ Birrell, Ian (14 October 2019). "How my daughter disrupted my politics". UnHerd. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
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