Simon Childs

London

Commissioning Editor and Reporter at Novara Media

Bluesky: @simonchilds.bsky.social Commissioning Editor and Reporter at @NovaraMedia [email protected]. Freelance: [email protected]

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Articles

The UK Decides Whether Israel Is Committing War Crimes By… Asking Israel

2 weeks ago | novaramedia.com | Simon Childs

Paywalls? Never. We think quality reporting should be free for everyone – and our supporters make that possible. Chip in today and help build people-powered media that everyone can access. What’s happening in Gaza has been referred to as “the most documented genocide in history”. Amnesty International has called it a “live-streamed genocide”.
Keir Starmer, the Rightwing Media Hates You. Get Used to It

2 weeks ago | novaramedia.com | Simon Childs

It’s almost a year since Keir Starmer’s Labour party won an electoral landslide by promising very little in a bid to appear sensible to swing voters. Its uninspiring approach was apparently worth it to beat the Tories. Change can come later, but first you have to win. Except now there’s another battle to be waged.
Ministers Accused of ‘Lying’ About Arms Exports to Israel

1 month ago | novaramedia.com | Simon Childs

Ministers have been accused of misleading parliament over arms exports to Israel, as research shows the UK has sent the country bullets, tanks and rocket launchers since October 2023. Analysis of data from the Israel Tax Authority shows that UK exports to Israel include a shipment of 150,000 bullets in October 2023 and over 8,000 individual munitions since the government’s partial suspension of export licences in September 2024.
Tories, Trolls and Tommy Robinson Fans: Meet Reform’s Top Local Candidates

1 month ago | novaramedia.com | Simon Childs

At last year’s general election, Reform UK was repeatedly embarrassed by the controversial views of its parliamentary candidates. In its aftermath, Nigel Farage said his party had been let down by “amateurism” in its vetting process – only for Reform to then put Jack Aaron, who said Hitler was “brilliant” at inspiring people, in charge of future candidate selections. This Thursday there will be local elections across the country, and Reform looks set to win big.
Greenwashing Power Station Executive Admits ‘Revolving Door’ With Government

2 months ago | novaramedia.com | Simon Childs

The huge sums of money greenwashing power plant Drax spends on buffing its image and cosying up to politicians have been revealed, as an executive let slip that the relationship between the company and civil service is a “revolving door”. A messy employment tribunal between Drax – a supposedly renewable power plant in north Yorkshire which burns trees processed in poor Black communities in the US – and its former head of public affairs and policy, Rowaa Ahmar, has come to an end.
Police Spent £3m Arresting Climate Activists During Far-Right Riots

2 months ago | novaramedia.com | Simon Childs

Police spent over £3m and deployed over 1,000 officers from nearly every force in the country in order to arrest 24 climate activists, Novara Media can reveal. In August 2024, as the country was gripped by far-right riots, cops swooped on activists planning to hold a mass protest camp near Drax – a power station in north Yorkshire accused of greenwashing.
UK’s Biggest ‘Renewable’ Power Station Sacked Employee Who Blew Whistle on Environmental Claims

2 months ago | novaramedia.com | Simon Childs

A supposedly renewable energy company dealt with a whistleblowing employee by trying to make her sign a non-disclosure agreement and leave, then by freezing her out, then by sacking her, an employment tribunal has heard. The claims have been made by the lawyers of a former employee of Drax, who tried to raise her concerns about the company’s environmental credentials. Drax owns the UK’s largest biomass power plant in north Yorkshire, which has long been accused of greenwashing.
UK’s Biggest ‘Renewable’ Power Station Sacked Employee Who Blew Whistle on Environmental Claims

2 months ago | novara.media | Simon Childs

A supposedly renewable energy company dealt with a whistleblowing employee by trying to make her sign a non-disclosure agreement and leave, then by freezing her out, then by sacking her, an employment tribunal has heard. The claims have been made by the lawyers of a former employee of Drax, who tried to raise her concerns about the company’s environmental credentials. Drax owns the UK’s largest biomass power plant in north Yorkshire, which has long been accused of greenwashing.
Police Officer Who Arrested Anti-Monarchy Protester ‘Was Aware’ No Offence Had Been Committed

2 months ago | novaramedia.com | Simon Childs

Police-worn bodycam footage shows that police arrested an anti-monarchy protester even though they knew he had done nothing wrong, campaigners say. After a two and a half year legal pursuit, Thames Valley Police has finally admitted it was wrong to arrest a man who shouted “Who elected him?” at a royal event in September 2022. 45-year-old Symon Hill was arrested, hand-cuffed and bundled into a police van after he called out at the county proclamation ceremony for King Charles in Oxford.
Cruise control: The battle for Hampstead Heath

Mar 5, 2025 | the-londoner.co.uk | Simon Childs

It’s Sunday, March 2, and, as the brilliant early spring sunshine melts the frost on the ground, around 30 activists dedicated to the cause of sexual freedom have gathered on Hampstead Heath to satirically reopen the park as a gay cruising spot. A thin golden ribbon is cut — or rather, burned with a lighter, as nobody has any scissors. This is the start of the Sodomites’ Walk — a protest march held to defend the right to have sex with strangers on the heath.