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Pippa Crerar

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Pippa Crerar
Born (1976-06-19) 19 June 1976 (age 48)
Edinburgh, Scotland
EducationThe Glasgow Academy
Alma materNewcastle University
OccupationJournalist
EmployerThe Guardian

Pippa Crerar (born 19 June 1976) is a British journalist who is the political editor of The Guardian. She was previously the Daily Mirror's political editor from 2018 to 2022. While at the Mirror, she reported extensively on Partygate, a political scandal that culminated in the resignation of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.

Early and personal life

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Crerar was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 19 June 1976. She spent her childhood in Edinburgh and in Glasgow, where she attended The Glasgow Academy.[1] Her father ran a printing company and her mother is an academic. Crerar attended Newcastle University, where she studied English. She was a Scott Trust Bursary recipient on City University's postgraduate newspaper journalism course.[2]

She is married to Tom Whitehead, who works as a senior civil servant in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).[3]

Career

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Before joining the Daily Mirror, Crerar worked as Political Correspondent and City Hall editor for the Evening Standard[4] throughout Boris Johnson's tenure as London Mayor. She has also previously been deputy political editor at The Guardian,[5] where she was a presenter of the Politics Weekly podcast.[6] Crerar is a presenter of BBC Radio 4's programme The Week in Westminster,[7] and has appeared regularly on The Andrew Marr Show, Politics Live, as well as weekly on Sky News.[8]

Crerar was the Daily Mirror's political editor from 2018 to 2022.[9] She was chair of the Parliamentary Press Gallery 2020/21.[10]

In May 2020, Crerar revealed that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's special adviser Dominic Cummings had broken COVID-19 lockdown rules by travelling from London to County Durham while experiencing symptoms of the disease, and that he had been investigated by police, in a joint Mirror-Guardian investigation. Cummings made a statement in the garden of 10 Downing Street acknowledging his movements, but retained his position.[11]

In November 2021, Crerar published an article stating that a Christmas party had taken place in Downing Street in 2020, in contravention of lockdown rules.[12] The article was followed by further articles in the Mirror, as well as content from other publications and broadcasters alleging further parties in what became known as Partygate.[13] In December 2021, she published a photograph in the Mirror showing former Conservative London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey at a Christmas party in December 2020.[14] In January 2022, she published further articles on Partygate, including on "wine time" Fridays at Downing Street[15] and a festive quiz.[16] On January 25, the Metropolitan Police announced that it would investigate Downing Street parties during lockdown.[17]

Johnson was later forced to apologise[18] after being fined over illegal parties held at 10 Downing Street[19] when Covid-19 restrictions were in place. After a series of scandals, including Partygate and the Chris Pincher affair, he stood down as prime minister.[20]

The committee chair, Harriet Harman MP, later praised Crerar's journalism in the Commons, adding: "This episode has shown that wrongdoing has not gone undiscovered and attempts to cover it up have failed, but it would have been undiscovered had not the press doggedly investigated."[21]

Senior Labour MP Margaret Hodge added: "That evidence might not have been available but for the revelations first made by Pippa Crerar, so I pay tribute to Pippa for her work as one of the most talented journalists of our time.[22]

In March 2022, the British Journalism Review said of Crerar: "Our profession should ultimately be about only one thing: fearless truth-telling and truthful reporting, regardless of the consequences. She's shown how the job should be done, and in the process played a major role in turning the Mirror back into a paper of which its legendary campaigning boss Hugh Cudlipp could feel proud".[23]

Crerar became political editor of The Guardian in August 2022, succeeding Heather Stewart.[24]

In November 2022, Crerar reported that Rishi Sunak used a private GP practice that offered consultations for £250, against a backdrop of ongoing disputes over NHS pay. In January 2023, she revealed the prime minister was looking at a one-off cash offer to try to end the nurses' strike.[25][26]

The day before the budget in March 2023, she was leaked the Chancellor's "rabbit out of the hat": that he was planning to announce a £4bn expansion of free childcare.[27]

Crerar has garnered recognition for her investigative journalism, notably in November 2022 when she reported that Gavin Williamson instructed a senior Ministry of Defence civil servant to "slit your throat", prompting Williamson's resignation from his government position.[28]

Later that month, she wrote that officials had been offered "respite or a route out"[29] amid bullying fears when Dominic Raab returned to the Ministry of Justice. It was the first in a series of exclusives about the deputy prime minister's behaviour across several Whitehall departments that resulted in an official investigation, which in April 2023 found him guilty of bullying, forcing him to stand down.[30]

Awards

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Crerar won political journalist of the year and scoop of the year at The Press Awards in 2020 for her story on Dominic Cummings' lockdown breach. She also won scoop of the year at the British Journalism Awards and London Press Club awards, and political journalist of the year at the Society of Editors' awards, where the judges said: "Crerar has had a fantastic year, showing tenacity, courage and persistence in her reporting.[31][32][33][34]

In 2022, she won Journalist of the Year at the London Press Club Awards, as well as Political Journalist of the Year, Journalist of the Year and Investigation of the Year for exposing the Partygate scandal at the Society of Editors' Media Freedom Awards. She won the Politics Journalism award, Journalist of the Year and Women In Journalism's Woman of the Year at the British Journalism Awards, where the judges said she had done "more than any other to hold our political leadership to account in the face of denials and outright dishonesty".[35][36][37]

She won Political Journalist of the Year at The Press Awards 2023 for her work at The Guardian, where the judges said: "Crerar's fearless reporting over the last year – regardless of consequences – has exposed hypocrisy at the top of Government, pushed a law-breaking PM to the brink, consistently held power to account and always championed the public interest." She won Political Journalist of the Year at the Society of Editors' Media Freedom Awards 2023.[38][39]

References

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  1. ^ "Etcetera" (PDF). 2019.
  2. ^ "XCity Magazine 2021 | By City, University of London, Journalism Department by Jason Bennetto – Issuu". issuu.com. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Britain's political power couples ranked". Politico. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Pippa Crerar | Evening Standard". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Women in Westminster 2021". Politics Home. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  6. ^ Toynbee, Presented by Pippa Crerar with Polly; Newman, Henry; Arthur, Jason; Jones, Sam; Barnard, Jennifer Rankin Produced by Simon (22 November 2018). "'A Brexit deal is within our grasp' – Politics Weekly podcast". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Quinn, Carolyn, (born 22 July 1961), Presenter: PM programme, BBC Radio 4, since 2000; Westminster Hour, BBC Radio 4, since 2007", Who's Who, Oxford University Press, 1 December 2007, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.45073, retrieved 23 March 2022
  8. ^ "Pippa Crerar". IMDB. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  9. ^ "The Mirror: The Heart of Britain". The Mirror. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Administration committee". 29 June 2020.
  11. ^ Crerar, Pippa; Armstrong, Jeremy (22 May 2020). "Dominic Cummings investigated by police after breaking Covid-19 lockdown rules". The Mirror. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Quinn, Carolyn, (born 22 July 1961), Presenter: PM programme, BBC Radio 4, since 2000; Westminster Hour, BBC Radio 4, since 2007", Who's Who, Oxford University Press, 1 December 2007, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.45073, retrieved 23 March 2022
  13. ^ Bradley, P.; Bond, V.; Bradley, P.; Rathe, P. (18 July 2008). "The student from hell – a horror story for Christmas". Medical Education. 34 (12): 1040–1042. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2923.2000.00811.x. ISSN 0308-0110. PMID 11123575. S2CID 31528200.
  14. ^ Crerar, Pippa (14 December 2021). "Picture shows 'raucous' Christmas party thrown by Tory aides in lockdown breach". The Mirror. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  15. ^ Crerar, Pippa (14 January 2022). "Boris Johnson's 'wine time Fridays' – No10 staff drinks every week in pandemic". mirror. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  16. ^ Crerar, Pippa (9 February 2022). "New bombshell pic shows Boris Johnson and open bottle of bubbly at No 10 quiz". The Mirror. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Police to investigate Downing Street lockdown parties". BBC News. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  18. ^ Stewart, Heather (19 April 2022). "Boris Johnson apologises in Commons over Partygate fine". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  19. ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Boris Johnson resigns: Five things that led to the PM's downfall". BBC News. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  21. ^ UK parliament (19 June 2023). "Privilege: Conduct of Right Hon. Boris Johnson".
  22. ^ "Privilege: Conduct of Right Hon. Boris Johnson". Hansard. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  23. ^ Peter, Osborne (4 March 2022). "Helping power escape truth". British Journalism Review. doi:10.1177/09564748221083128. S2CID 247237450.
  24. ^ Crerar, Pippa [@PippaCrerar] (10 May 2022). "I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be rejoining The Guardian as Political Editor this summer, taking over from the inestimable @GuardianHeather" (Tweet). Retrieved 10 May 2022 – via Twitter.
  25. ^ Crerar, Pippa (21 November 2022). "Rishi Sunak is registered with private GP practice offering £250 consultations". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  26. ^ Crerar, Pippa (8 January 2023). "Rishi Sunak may consider one-off payment to end nurses' strikes". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  27. ^ Crerar, Pippa; Mason, Rowena; Topping, Alexandra (14 March 2023). "Budget 2023: Hunt to announce £4bn boost for childcare in England". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  28. ^ Crerar, Pippa (7 November 2022). "Senior civil servant claims Gavin Williamson told them to 'slit your throat'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  29. ^ Crerar, Pippa (11 November 2022). "MoJ staff offered 'route out' amid concerns over Dominic Raab behaviour". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  30. ^ "Dominic Raab resigns as bullying inquiry finds 'aggressive conduct'". BBC News. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  31. ^ "The Press Awards 2020 Political Journalist of the Year & Scoop of the Year". The Press Awards.
  32. ^ "British Journalism Awards winners 2020: FT's Dan McCrum crowned journalist of the year for Wirecard investigation". Press Gazette. 9 December 2020.
  33. ^ "Winners announced at first 'in person' media awards since the pandemic". London Press Club. 28 October 2021.
  34. ^ "Gallery of Winners – Society of Editors".
  35. ^ richard.dymond (27 October 2022). "London Press Club Awards 2022 – Winners and shortlists". London Press Club. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  36. ^ "Media Freedom Awards Winners – Society of Editors". Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  37. ^ Tobitt, Charlotte (15 December 2022). "British Journalism Awards winners 2022: Pippa Crerar is journalist of the year and Sky News bags best news provider". Press Gazette. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  38. ^ "Press Awards winners". The Press Awards. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  39. ^ "Media Freedom Awards 2023 winners – Society of Editors". Retrieved 19 December 2023.
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