Michael Crick
Encyclopedia
Michael Crick is a British
journalist
, author
and broadcaster
. Crick was a founding member of the Channel 4 News
Team in 1982. He worked on the BBC
's Newsnight
between 1992 and 2011, acting as the programme's political editor from 2007 to his departure. He left to return to Channel 4 News as chief political reporter.
, the eldest child of John Crick and Patricia Wright, and brother to triplets Catherine, Anne and Beatrice. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School
and New College, Oxford
, where he gained a first class degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
(PPE). At Oxford he was editor of the student newspaper, Cherwell
, founded the Oxford Handbook and the Oxbridge Careers Handbook, and was president of the Oxford Union
.
correspondent.
Crick joined the BBC in 1990, first on Panorama
, becoming a regular reporter on BBC Two
's Newsnight
from 1992. In March 2007, he was appointed the programme's political editor.
Crick is known for his investigations of politicians, including Jeffrey Archer, David Blunkett
and Caroline Spelman
and has written unofficial biographies of a number. He achieved particular prominence as the nemesis and unauthorised biographer of Jeffrey Archer. When he was attempting to interview Archer for Newsnight in 1999 during his campaign to be elected mayor of London, Archer levelled, on camera, the following apparent threat at Crick: "You wait till I'm Mayor. You'll find out how tough I am". Margaret Crick, his former wife, published a biography of Archer's wife Mary
in 2005.
In 2003, under heavy pressure from the preparation of the Hutton Inquiry
, the BBC refused to show Crick's report for Newsnight into 'Betsygate
', the alleged misuse of public funds by the private office of former Conservative Party
leader Iain Duncan Smith
and supposed payments to his wife Betsy for work she did not do. Crick referred the case to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Sir Philip Mawer
and the Duncan Smiths were cleared of any impropriety.
In the 2005 general election
, it was observed that the five most terrifying words in the political lexicon were "Michael Crick is in reception".
In July 2011, it was announced that Crick was returning to Channel 4 News as Chief Political correspondent, replacing Cathy Newman under political editor Gary Gibbon
. He made his last appearance on Newsnight on 29 July 2011.
Following his departure Crick gave an interview to The Independent
discussing his unhappy final year at Newsnight. He claimed that a year prior to his departure he'd been asked to give up his role as political editor to a new appointment and take another "ill-defined" role. He also talked of the BBC as a place where "people tend to think of reasons why things shouldn't be done" and criticised BBC News
's archive policy. He also expressed concerns about the effects of cuts to the licence fee on Newsnight.
editor Alastair Hetherington
, and they have a daughter, Isabel (b. 2006/2007). He also has an older daughter, Catherine, from his previous marriage.
On 24 February 2008, the News of the World
newspaper reported that Crick had a six month affair with Jeanette Eccles, a former BBC
researcher. The paper ridiculed Crick for presenting himself as a moral crusader when his own behaviour was unethical. He was also criticised for trying to prevent the publication of the story on the grounds of privacy while he was making a living from exposing the wrong doings of others.
A keen supporter of Manchester United, he has written several books on the team as well as his political works. In 1998-99 he was the organiser of the Shareholders United Against Murdoch campaign which successfully opposed BSkyB's proposed takeover of United. He later served as Vice-Chairman of Shareholders United.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
. Crick was a founding member of the Channel 4 News
Channel 4 News
Channel 4 News is the news division of British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since the broadcaster's launch in 1982.-Channel 4 News:...
Team in 1982. He worked on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
between 1992 and 2011, acting as the programme's political editor from 2007 to his departure. He left to return to Channel 4 News as chief political reporter.
Early life
Crick was born in NorthamptonNorthampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
, the eldest child of John Crick and Patricia Wright, and brother to triplets Catherine, Anne and Beatrice. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School
Manchester Grammar School
The Manchester Grammar School is the largest independent day school for boys in the UK . It is based in Manchester, England...
and New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
, where he gained a first class degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
Philosophy, politics, and economics is a popular interdisciplinary undergraduate/graduate degree which combines study from the three disciplines...
(PPE). At Oxford he was editor of the student newspaper, Cherwell
Cherwell (newspaper)
Cherwell is an independent newspaper, largely published for students of Oxford University. First published in 1920, it has had an online edition since 1996. Named after the local river, Cherwell is published by OSPL , who also publish the sister publication ISIS along with the Etcetera Supplement...
, founded the Oxford Handbook and the Oxbridge Careers Handbook, and was president of the Oxford Union
Oxford Union
The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, Britain, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...
.
Career
A journalist specialising in politics, he was a founding member of the Channel 4 News team when it launched in 1982, working as their WashingtonWashington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
correspondent.
Crick joined the BBC in 1990, first on Panorama
Panorama (TV series)
Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...
, becoming a regular reporter on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
's Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
from 1992. In March 2007, he was appointed the programme's political editor.
Crick is known for his investigations of politicians, including Jeffrey Archer, David Blunkett
David Blunkett
David Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010...
and Caroline Spelman
Caroline Spelman
Caroline Alice Spelman is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom who has served as the Member of Parliament for Meriden in the West Midlands since 1997...
and has written unofficial biographies of a number. He achieved particular prominence as the nemesis and unauthorised biographer of Jeffrey Archer. When he was attempting to interview Archer for Newsnight in 1999 during his campaign to be elected mayor of London, Archer levelled, on camera, the following apparent threat at Crick: "You wait till I'm Mayor. You'll find out how tough I am". Margaret Crick, his former wife, published a biography of Archer's wife Mary
Mary Archer, Baroness Archer of Weston-super-Mare
Mary Doreen Archer, Baroness Archer of Weston-super-Mare is a British scientist specialising in solar power conversion. She studied chemistry at St Anne's College, Oxford, and physical chemistry at Imperial College London, before becoming a Cambridge University lecturer...
in 2005.
In 2003, under heavy pressure from the preparation of the Hutton Inquiry
Hutton Inquiry
The Hutton Inquiry was a 2003 judicial inquiry in the UK chaired by Lord Hutton, who was appointed by the Labour government to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of David Kelly, a biological warfare expert and former UN weapons inspector in Iraq.On 18 July 2003, Kelly, an employee...
, the BBC refused to show Crick's report for Newsnight into 'Betsygate
Betsygate
Betsygate was a minor political scandal in the United Kingdom while Iain Duncan Smith was Leader of the Conservative Party. The scandal was over the level of pay that lain Duncan Smith’s wife Elisabeth enjoyed as her husband’s diary secretary....
', the alleged misuse of public funds by the private office of former Conservative Party
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...
leader Iain Duncan Smith
Iain Duncan Smith
George Iain Duncan Smith is a British Conservative politician. He is currently the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and was previously leader of the Conservative Party from September 2001 to October 2003...
and supposed payments to his wife Betsy for work she did not do. Crick referred the case to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Sir Philip Mawer
Philip Mawer
Sir Philip Mawer was the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards from 2002 until 2008 when he became an independent advisor on Ministerial standards to Gordon Brown. He was previously Secretary General of the General Synod of the Church of England....
and the Duncan Smiths were cleared of any impropriety.
In the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, it was observed that the five most terrifying words in the political lexicon were "Michael Crick is in reception".
In July 2011, it was announced that Crick was returning to Channel 4 News as Chief Political correspondent, replacing Cathy Newman under political editor Gary Gibbon
Gary Gibbon
Gary Gibbon is political editor for Channel 4 News. Previously, he had served as political correspondent at Channel 4 News since 1994...
. He made his last appearance on Newsnight on 29 July 2011.
Following his departure Crick gave an interview to The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
discussing his unhappy final year at Newsnight. He claimed that a year prior to his departure he'd been asked to give up his role as political editor to a new appointment and take another "ill-defined" role. He also talked of the BBC as a place where "people tend to think of reasons why things shouldn't be done" and criticised BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
's archive policy. He also expressed concerns about the effects of cuts to the licence fee on Newsnight.
Personal life
Crick lives with his partner Lucy Hetherington, the daughter of the former The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
editor Alastair Hetherington
Alastair Hetherington
Hector Alastair Hetherington was a British journalist, newspaper editor and academic. For nearly twenty years he was the editor of The Guardian, and is regarded as one of the leading editors of the second half of the twentieth century.-Early years:Hetherington was the son of Sir Hector...
, and they have a daughter, Isabel (b. 2006/2007). He also has an older daughter, Catherine, from his previous marriage.
On 24 February 2008, the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
newspaper reported that Crick had a six month affair with Jeanette Eccles, a former BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
researcher. The paper ridiculed Crick for presenting himself as a moral crusader when his own behaviour was unethical. He was also criticised for trying to prevent the publication of the story on the grounds of privacy while he was making a living from exposing the wrong doings of others.
A keen supporter of Manchester United, he has written several books on the team as well as his political works. In 1998-99 he was the organiser of the Shareholders United Against Murdoch campaign which successfully opposed BSkyB's proposed takeover of United. He later served as Vice-Chairman of Shareholders United.
Books
- The March of MilitantMilitant TendencyThe Militant tendency was an entrist group within the British Labour Party based around the Militant newspaper that was first published in 1964...
(Faber 1984, 1986) - ScargillArthur ScargillArthur Scargill is a British politician who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers from 1982 to 2002, leading the union through the 1984–85 miners' strike, a key event in British labour and political history...
And The Miners (1985) - Manchester United: The Betrayal of a Legend (1989)(with David Smith)
- Jeffrey Archer : Stranger Than Fiction (1995)
- Manchester United: The Complete Fact Book (1999)
- Michael HeseltineMichael HeseltineMichael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major...
: A Biography (1997) - The Boss: The Many Sides of Alex FergusonAlex FergusonSir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
(2002) - In Search of Michael HowardMichael HowardMichael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
(2005)