Paddy French
 Paddy French    (investigative reporter) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1949 |
| Alma mater | University College Cardiff, Manchester University |
Paddy French is a semi-retired investigative reporter who launched the Rebecca magazine in Wales in the 1970s, a radical publication that took its name from the Rebecca Riots of the 19th century. The magazine’s reputation was based on a sustained critique of the Labour Party in Wales.
Many of the politicians and councillors exposed in its pages were later convicted of corruption. In 1976, the Sunday Times called Paddy French ‘the scourge of the Welsh’.
Paddy French went on to freelance for the Sunday Times as well as working on corruption investigations for BBC Nationwide, Thames TV and the BBC 2 Man Alive series.
In the 1990s he was an independent producer who worked for Channel 4 Dispatches, BBC Wales and ITV Wales.
From the late 1990s until his retirement in 2009, he worked as a current affairs reporter and producer for HTV/ITV Wales, mainly on the long-running Wales This Week strand.[1]
Contents
Rebecca TV
Upon retiring, he relaunched the Rebecca brand as a website, ‘Rebecca Television’, where he exposes wrongdoing in Welsh public life.[2]
Rebecca TV revealed disturbing flaws in the 1996-1999 Waterhouse Tribunal into North Wales Child Abuse — key witness not interviewed. This was Britain's only child abuse tribunal.
Rebecca TV investigated into allegations of nepotism and patronage at BBC Wales by the Talfan Davies clique — ongoing. And exposed failure of Welsh Water's "not-for-profit" ownership — customers have received rebates of less than 2 per cent from total bills of more than eight billion pounds since 2001.
Press Gang
Paddy French also runs the Press Gang website, exposing rogue journalism. It is best known for its dramatic exposé revealing News of the World “Fake Sheikh” Mazher Mahmood lied to the Leveson Inquiry about the number of successful criminal prosecutions he’d secured.[3]
Paddy French joined the Labour Party after the 2017 manifesto "For The Many, Not The Few".
In 2019 he co-authored, with Professor Brian Cathcart, "Unmasked: Andrew Norfolk, The Times Newspaper And Anti-Muslim Reporting: A Case To Answer" (Unmasked Books). The Times published an editorial condemning French and Cathcart as “politically motivated campaigners … trying to smear and suppress fine reporting”.[4]
Is the BBC Anti-Labour?
In a December 2019 article published by Press Gang, Paddy French called John Ware's Panorama programme 'Is Labour Anti-Semitic?' “a piece of rogue journalism that presented just one side of the argument, ignored basic facts and bent the truth to breaking point”.[5] In response, John Ware has sued Press Gang website editor Paddy French, seeking £50,000 in damages, over the article headlined: “Political storm rages over BBC’s ‘rogue’ journalism”.[6]
Ware Vs French
A fundraiser for £100,000 to defend the libel action brought by BBC Panorama reporter John Ware was established in 2020.[7]
A Document by Paddy French
References
- ↑ "Paddy French on Linkedin"
- ↑ "Freemasons’ names published on website"
- ↑ "FRENCH, Paddy: …"
- ↑ "Unmasked: Andrew Norfolk, The Times Newspaper And Anti-Muslim Reporting: A Case To Answer"
- ↑ "IS THE BBC ANTI-LABOUR? PANORAMA’S BIASED ANTI-SEMITISM REPORTING – A CASE TO ANSWER"
- ↑ "Journalist John Ware wins first stage of £50,000 libel fight over Press Gang editor Paddy French's 'rogue journalism' claim"
- ↑ "Weʼre raising £100,000 to defend a libel action brought by BBC Panorama reporter John Ware"
