David Leigh
Encyclopedia
David Leigh is a British journalist and author, currently investigations executive editor of The Guardian
.
and King's College, Cambridge
, receiving a research degree from Cambridge in 1968.
since the 1970s, He was a journalist for the Scotsman
, The Times
, and the Guardian, and a Laurence Stern fellow
at the Washington Post
in 1980. From 1980 he was chief investigative reporter at The Observer
.
His 1988 book The Wilson Plot increased public interest in alleged attempts
by the British security services and others to destabilise Harold Wilson
's government in the 1970s. His 1995 TV documentary for World in Action
, "Jonathan of Arabia", led after a libel trial to the jailing for perjury
of former Conservative
defence minister Jonathan Aitken
. With colleague Rob Evans, he published a series of corruption exposures in the Guardian about international arms giant BAE Systems
. After criminal inquiry by the US Department of Justice and other international prosecutors, the company was eventually hit with penalties totalling $529 million. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/may/17/bae-to-pay-79m-dollar-fine-to-us In 2006, Leigh became the Anthony Sampson Professor of Reporting in the Journalism department at City University London.
releases, and which worked closely with Julian Assange
. This relationship soured however. This caused David Leigh to tweet
: "The #guardian published too many leaks for #Assange 's liking, it seems. So now he's signed up 'exclusively' with #Murdoch's Times. Gosh."
In a book he published with Luke Harding, Leigh mentioned the password to a set of unredacted classified US State Department cables
. Wikileaks had earlier distributed multiple copies of files containing all these cables. Julian Assange of Wikileaks sought controversially to blame Leigh and the Guardian.' In response the Guardian said "it's nonsense to suggest the Guardian's WikiLeaks book has compromised security in any way". According to the Guardian Wikileaks had indicated that the password was temporary and that Wikileaks had seven months to take action to protect the files it had subsequently decided to post online.
prize, with his colleague Rob Evans, for the BAE bribery
exposures. The prize is awarded annually by Private Eye
and The Guardian in memory of the campaigning journalist Paul Foot. Leigh and Evans were also presented with the Granada TV What the Papers Say
Judges' Award for "an outstanding piece of investigative journalism that uncovered a story of great significance". In 2010, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists awarded him and five other journalists the Daniel Pearl Award for their investigation of Trafigura.
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
.
Early life
Leigh was born in 1946 and educated at Nottingham High SchoolNottingham High School
Nottingham High School is a British boys' independent school situated about a mile north of Nottingham city centre. It has around 900 pupils from ages 11 to 18 and there is the adjoining Nottingham High Junior School catering for younger boys and, from September 2008, the Lovell House...
and King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, receiving a research degree from Cambridge in 1968.
Career
Leigh has been a prominent investigative journalistInvestigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
since the 1970s, He was a journalist for the Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, and the Guardian, and a Laurence Stern fellow
Laurence Stern fellowship
The Laurence Stern fellowship is an annual summer internship program for British journalists at the Washington Post. The internship was established in honour of Post journalist, Laurence Stern. A fund for the program is managed by the National Press Foundation. Awardees are selected by the Post...
at the Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
in 1980. From 1980 he was chief investigative reporter at The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
.
His 1988 book The Wilson Plot increased public interest in alleged attempts
Harold Wilson conspiracy theories
Since the mid-1970s, a variety of conspiracy theories have emerged centering on British Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. These range from Wilson having been a Soviet agent, to Wilson being the victim of counter-espionage plots by members of the civil service....
by the British security services and others to destabilise Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
's government in the 1970s. His 1995 TV documentary for World in Action
World in Action
World in Action was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television from 1963 until 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its production teams often took audacious risks and gained a solid reputation for its often...
, "Jonathan of Arabia", led after a libel trial to the jailing for perjury
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
of former Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
defence minister Jonathan Aitken
Jonathan Aitken
Jonathan William Patrick Aitken is a former Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, and British government minister. He was convicted of perjury in 1999 and received an 18-month prison sentence, of which he served seven months...
. With colleague Rob Evans, he published a series of corruption exposures in the Guardian about international arms giant BAE Systems
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
. After criminal inquiry by the US Department of Justice and other international prosecutors, the company was eventually hit with penalties totalling $529 million. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/may/17/bae-to-pay-79m-dollar-fine-to-us In 2006, Leigh became the Anthony Sampson Professor of Reporting in the Journalism department at City University London.
Wikileaks investigation
in 2006 Leigh headed the Guardian team, which investigated the WikiLeaksWikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
releases, and which worked closely with Julian Assange
Julian Assange
Julian Paul Assange is an Australian publisher, journalist, writer, computer programmer and Internet activist. He is the editor in chief of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website and conduit for worldwide news leaks with the stated purpose of creating open governments.WikiLeaks has published material...
. This relationship soured however. This caused David Leigh to tweet
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
: "The #guardian published too many leaks for #Assange 's liking, it seems. So now he's signed up 'exclusively' with #Murdoch's Times. Gosh."
In a book he published with Luke Harding, Leigh mentioned the password to a set of unredacted classified US State Department cables
United States diplomatic cables leak
The United States diplomatic cables leak, widely known as Cablegate, began in February 2010 when WikiLeaks—a non-profit organization that publishes submissions from anonymous whistleblowers—began releasing classified cables that had been sent to the U.S. State Department by 274 of its consulates,...
. Wikileaks had earlier distributed multiple copies of files containing all these cables. Julian Assange of Wikileaks sought controversially to blame Leigh and the Guardian.' In response the Guardian said "it's nonsense to suggest the Guardian's WikiLeaks book has compromised security in any way". According to the Guardian Wikileaks had indicated that the password was temporary and that Wikileaks had seven months to take action to protect the files it had subsequently decided to post online.
Awards
In 2007, he was awarded the Paul FootPaul Foot
Paul Mackintosh Foot was a British investigative journalist, political campaigner, author, and long-time member of the Socialist Workers Party...
prize, with his colleague Rob Evans, for the BAE bribery
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
exposures. The prize is awarded annually by Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
and The Guardian in memory of the campaigning journalist Paul Foot. Leigh and Evans were also presented with the Granada TV What the Papers Say
What the Papers Say
What The Papers Say is a BBC radio programme that originally ran for many years on British television.Its first incarnation was the second longest-running programme on British television after Panorama...
Judges' Award for "an outstanding piece of investigative journalism that uncovered a story of great significance". In 2010, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists awarded him and five other journalists the Daniel Pearl Award for their investigation of Trafigura.
External links
- Column archive at The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Article archive at Journalisted
- Leigh: "European Audience Troubled By The Toll Afghan War is Taking on Innocent People" - video interview by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...