Phoebe Cooke

London

UK Co-Deputy Editor at DeSmog

Investigative journalist | co-deputy editor @desmog UK Also on @phoebecooke.bsky.social

Articles

Czech MEP Appointed to Climate Role While Paid £10k a Month as Car Consultant

2 months ago | desmog.com | Phoebe Cooke

This article was published in partnership with Czech investigative media outlet Deník ReferendumA Czech MEP earning €120,000 a year in his second job as an automotive consultant is facing fresh concerns over the “unacceptable” conflicts of interest involved in his latest appointment.
Czech MEP Appointed to Climate Role While Paid £10k a Month as Car Consultant

2 months ago | ecotopical.com | Phoebe Cooke

This article was published in partnership with Czech investigative media outlet Deník Referendum A Czech MEP earning €120,000 a year in his second job as an automotive consultant is facing fresh concerns over the “unacceptable” conflicts of interest involved in his latest appointment. Filip Turek was…
EU Defends Hiring Trump-Linked Oil Lobby Group

Feb 14, 2025 | desmog.com | Adam Barnett |Phoebe Cooke

The European Union has backed its decision to hire a Republican-linked PR firm with a string of fossil fuel clients. Washington-based consultancy DCI Group was employed by the EU’s delegation to the U.S. days before President Donald Trump’s election on November 5, with a brief to advise on “communications and public engagement strategy [with] an emphasis on promoting EU trade and investment in the United States”.
Revealed: The ‘Vested Interests’ on the EU’s Agriculture Committee

Dec 11, 2024 | desmog.com | Phoebe Cooke

This investigation was coordinated by Le Monde and the nonprofit research organisation ARIA, in partnership with Transparency International EU and seven European media: De Tijd (Belgium), L’Espresso (Italy), der Spiegel and ZDF (Germany), der Standard (Austria), El Confidential (Spain) and DeSmog.
Nitrates Derogation is a 'Con', Says Ireland's Farmers

Nov 27, 2024 | desmog.com | Phoebe Cooke

Smallholders are calling on the EU to scrap Ireland’s nitrates derogation, arguing that pollution of the air, waterways and soil is causing havoc to the land and their livelihoods. Ahead of a snap general election taking place this Friday, November 29, Ireland’s three biggest political parties have all pledged to fight for a continued exemption from the EU Nitrates Directive, which permits selected farmers to spread more artificial fertiliser and manure than normally allowed.
Prison sex sessions, fake holidays and Spice busts… how love-bombing gangsters turn ordinary women into drug mules

Nov 13, 2024 | thescottishsun.co.uk | Phoebe Cooke |Guy Birchall |Amanda Killelea

WHEN Amy Hatfield started working as a prison nurse, she would never have thought she'd end up behind bars herself. The 39-year-old had become a mental health worker at HMP Lindholme, Donacaster, with good intentions to help inmates get their lives back on track. Instead she was love-bombed by a manipulative career crook and lured into a devastating criminal operation which would leave seven people dead.
'Breaking Bad' labs, glam mules & addict lags forced to 'fight like dogs'... the murky Spice underworld flooding prisons

Nov 6, 2024 | thesun.ie | Phoebe Cooke |Guy Birchall |Grace Macaskill

IT’S the terrifying 'fake cannabis' that leaves users 'zombified' and has been responsible for nearly HALF of non-natural prison deaths. Cooked up in dodgy “Breaking Bad-style” labs across the country, synthetic drug Spice has caused a “complete crisis” in UK lock-ups and is being smuggled in ingenious ways by a rising number of criminals.
Mapped: Inside Ireland’s Powerful Farming Lobby

Sep 25, 2024 | desmog.com | Phoebe Cooke |Michaela Herrmann

In the chilled section of any major supermarket, from London to Lagos, you’re likely to find a taste of Ireland – a stick of premium butter wrapped in gold or green packaging, celebrating a superior product from grass-fed pastures. But the gleaming image of Ireland’s agri-produce hides a number of inconvenient truths, among them the damage the sector is wreaking on Ireland’s climate targets, as well as its waterways and soils.
Investigating Ireland’s Influential Ag Lobby

Sep 25, 2024 | desmog.com | Phoebe Cooke |Michaela Herrmann

The Republic of Ireland – often dubbed the Emerald Isle – boasts a global reputation for its grass-based agriculture, exporting 90 percent of its meat and dairy produce to over 100 countries. But the intensive food and farming sector is heavily polluting its air, waterways and soil through excessive levels of nitrates in fertilisers and manure.
Investigating Ireland’s Influential Ag Lobby

Sep 25, 2024 | desmog.com | Phoebe Cooke |Michaela Herrmann

The Republic of Ireland – often dubbed the Emerald Isle – boasts a global reputation for its grass-based agriculture, exporting 90 percent of its meat and dairy produce to over 100 countries. But the intensive food and farming sector is heavily polluting its air, waterways and soil through excessive levels of nitrates in fertilisers and manure.