Meirion Jones

Meirion Jones
Meirion Jones speaking at QEDcon, Manchester, October 2016
Born
London, England
OccupationInvestigative journalist

Meirion Jones is a Welsh journalist. He worked for the BBC from 1988 until 2015 and is now the editor of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.[1] Former Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman described Jones as "a dogged journalist with that obsessional, slightly nutty commitment that marks out all successful investigative reporters".[2]

Jones has investigated many subjects, including the alleged fixing of the US presidential election in 2000, toxic waste dumping in Africa, how Britain helped Israel’s nuclear weapons programme, market-rigging by multinationals, bogus bomb detectors, tsunami aid,[3] terror and security,[4] political scandals,[5] and financial scams.[6] He has written for many newspapers including The Guardian.[7]

Jones also worked with journalist Liz MacKean in late 2011 on a Newsnight investigation which aimed to expose recently deceased BBC star Jimmy Savile as a prolific paedophile. Its suppression by their boss, then Newsnight editor Peter Rippon, ultimately led to a major scandal. Jones featured in Netflix's two-part documentary Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story (2022).[8]

  1. ^ "Our People".
  2. ^ Paxman, Jeremy (26 September 2016). "The rumours about Jimmy Savile had been around for years". The Times. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  3. ^ Jones, Meirion (19 December 2006). "Programmes | Newsnight Home | Tsunami funds languish in banks". BBC News. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  4. ^ Hope, Christopher; Millward, David (8 May 2008). "Foreign criminals work at airports unchecked". London: Telegraph. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  5. ^ George Jones 27 October 2005 (27 October 2005). "Blunkett in new row over sons' shares in DNA testing firm". London: Telegraph. Retrieved 7 March 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Jones, Meirion (1 December 2006). "Undercover actor exposes 'Aids cure'". London: Telegraph. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  7. ^ "Outrageous libel laws protected Jimmy Savile. At last, change is on the cards | Meirion Jones". TheGuardian.com. 28 April 2022.
  8. ^ Midgley, Carol (6 April 2022). "Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story review — how we lauded a pervert and failed his victims".