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The asylum seekers, migrants and refugees in search of legitimacy
This is the scene. A BBC crew arrives at a Red Cross refugee drop-in centre with a large camera and a long furry microphone. Is…
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In the footsteps of Corrie McKeague
The last known images of Corrie Mckeague alive are grainy, monochrome pictures captured by a town centre CCTV system. The 23-year-old airman had been for…
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The once homeless father who got a new home
It’s easy to take things for granted. I met a father-of-two a few weeks back whose relationship break up had left him homeless. Lee Mobley,…
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Meeting the Historical Re-enactors
It turns out the world of historical re-enactment is far from a monolith of collectively-interested hobbyists. Re-enactment has its own sub-cultures, sea-shelves and side-streets. For…
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Dead Ends: Life and work in the shadows of unsolved murders
Loose ends make a fertile breeding ground for rumour, suspicion and fear. And few loose ends linger in quite the same way as an unsolved…
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Gosh, a woman with a comic shop
We were trying something a little new on the BBC news website a few weeks back. The idea – called ‘Slides’ – was to try…
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Faith Spear: The Prison Monitor Who Spoke Out
I recently wrote a piece about a former prison monitor who had raised concerns about the state of prison monitoring. As a result of her…
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‘Little America’: Where the Stars and Stripes fly high
Many years ago, when I worked in Suffolk, I had an idea for a feature about the peculiarly American feel of north west Suffolk. Yes,…
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The public costs of bird control
A few months back I was leaving an inquest and noticed some guys putting up netting around a council building. They told me it was…
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The Midwife Specialising in Baby Deaths
Just sometimes you get a press release which stops you in your tracks. A few weeks ago I had one from Colchester Hospital about the…