Ian Birrell is a British journalist and former speechwriter to

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

. He has been a columnist at several newspapers including the '' i'' and ''

UnHerd ''UnHerd'' is a British news and opinion website founded in July 2017. Content ''UnHerd'' was founded in 2017 by conservative British political activist Tim Montgomerie, who also acted as editor. Following Montgomerie's departure in September ...

''. From 1998 to 2010, Birrell was deputy editor-in-chief of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

''.

Education

Birrell was educated at

Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in the village of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1802 as a boys' school, it is situated in the groun ...

, a Roman Catholic boarding independent school for boys (now coeducational), in the village of

Ampleforth Ampleforth is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England, north of York. The village is situated on the edge of the North York Moors National Park. The parish has a population of 883 according to the 2001 ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four cou ...

, followed by the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

Journalism

Birrell has reported as a foreign correspondent for British newspapers from

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

, Syria, and others. 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. 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.

Television and Radio

Birrell presented the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...

programme Tough Justice that featured

Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since 2021. He has been Member of Parli ...

Sky News All Out Politics podcast ''What Next for Global Britain'' hosted by Adam Boulton The Andrew Marr Show

Music

Birrell co-founded the charity Africa Express with musician

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (; born 23 March 1968) is an English-Icelandic musician, singer-songwriter and composer, best known as the frontman and primary lyricist of the rock band Blur and as the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual ...

to encourage collaboration between African, Middle Eastern and Western musicians He was executive producer of the Africa Express albums ''Presents (2009)'' Terry's in C Mali (2015)

Awards

* Edgar Wallace Award (2013) * Foreign Reporter of the Year Society of Editors Press Awards (2015) *Press Awards Foreign Reporter of the Year (2015) * Popular Journalism Award, British Journalism Awards (2018) *Health Journalist of the Year, British Press Awards (2018) *Health Journalist of the Year, Editor's Press Awards (2019) *Amnesty UK Media Award- News- Locked up for Autism 2019 *The Orwell Prize - Exposing Britain's social evils 2020

Personal life

Birrell has a daughter, Ione, who suffers from severe

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

References

External links

www.ianbirrell.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birrell, Ian Alumni of the University of Aberdeen British newspaper editors British columnists British political journalists People educated at Ampleforth College Year of birth missing (living people) Living people