Award-winning journalist turns legal win into updated podcast
A journalist who set a Freedom of Information precedent has turned his legal victory into two new episodes of an award-winning crime podcast.
On Friday, the Archant Investigations Unit released two instalments of Unfinished, which has previously hit the UK true crime top ten on Apple Podcasts.
Written by Charles Thomson and produced y the unit’s editor Tom Bristow, the current season — Shoebury’s Lost Boys — investigates police failings in a paedophile ring case.
Previous episodes have unmasked the one of the ring’s leaders, Dennis King, as a police informant with links to suspected child-killer Lennie Smith.
In September, Charles was named Weekly Reporter of the Year by the Society of Editors, who called the podcast “an excellent example of how weekly journalists can adapt to reach new audiences”.
The two new episodes are the result of precedent setting Freedom of Information (FOI) victories he scored earlier this year, forcing the disclosure of more than 1,000 pages of police files.
They revealed that King and fellow ringleader Brian Tanner were offending together for more than a decade before they were jointly prosecuted.
Charles said: “These new episodes achieved the highest release day download figures in the series’ history. It’s great to know there is such an appetite for our brand of in-depth reporting. Hopefully these FOI victories have opened the door for other journalists.”
Tom added: “We thought last year that these would be the last episodes about this extraordinary and tragic story but Charles keeps finding new leads. Podcasts are the perfect format for this type of investigative journalism and I’m delighted Archant has continued to support us.”
In May, Charles won a three-year FOI battle with Essex Police, forcing it to release files from repeated investigations into King and Tanner — both now dead.
He used that victory to challenge the National Police Chiefs Council’s (NPCC) policy of refusing to release deceased offenders’ files.
Confronted with Essex Police’s precedent, the NPCC handed over its own records on King and Tanner — which its press office confirmed was believed to be the first time any deceased criminal’s file had ever been released.
The series was named content of the year at Archant’s annual awards.
*Unfinished is available via all usual podcast providers, or at www.podfollow.com/unfinished-1/
