Exaro

Exaro, also known as Exaro News, was a British investigative journalism website launched in October 2011 and based in London. It presented itself as an independent, open-access news organization focused on political and public-interest investigations. Its stated editorial ambition was to expose information that institutions and powerful individuals preferred to keep hidden, under the slogan “Holding Power to Account.” The site described its method as evidence-based journalism rather than political spin, routine aggregation, or illegally obtained material. The publication was reportedly established by Jerome Booth, a City of London fund manager known for climate-change scepticism. Mark Watts served as editor-in-chief, while journalists including Mark Conrad and David Hencke contributed to its investigations. Exaro’s work covered public-sector contracting, tax arrangements, defence procurement, media misconduct, and British foreign-policy debates. Among its better-known investigations was a February 2012 report that the chief executive of the Student Loans Company, Ed Lester, was being paid through a private company. The arrangement attracted parliamentary attention and prompted Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander to announce a review of civil-service contracting arrangements. Exaro also worked with Channel 4 News on secretly recorded material involving News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch and the phone-hacking crisis at the now-closed News of the World. Other reporting examined alleged bribery connected with a Saudi defence contract and possible Western military intervention in Syria. Exaro later became closely associated with allegations made by Carl Beech, who used the pseudonym “Nick.” Through reporting by Exaro journalists, claims emerged that a powerful paedophile ring had abused children at Elm Guest House in Barnes during the late 1970s and early 1980s and had been involved in murders. The allegations were passed to Labour MP Tom Watson, who raised them in Parliament. They contributed to police inquiries including Operation Fairbank and Operation Fernbridge, and later helped trigger the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Midland. Operation Fernbridge found no supporting evidence for the specific Elm Guest House allegations, while Operation Midland closed in 2016 without charges. A subsequent inquiry concluded that the people accused had been victims of false allegations. Beech was convicted in 2019 of offences connected with his fabricated claims and sentenced to eighteen years in prison. The publication’s handling of the Beech allegations became the defining controversy of Exaro’s existence. Critics argued that its reporting and promotion of the claims encouraged a climate of sensationalism and undermined fairness for both alleged victims and accused people. Former Conservative MP Harvey Proctor, one of the men investigated and subjected to a police search, described Exaro as functioning as Beech’s support network. Watts maintained that the publication had not stated that Beech’s claims were proven, although he later criticised aspects of Beech’s conviction. In January 2019, former Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming won a libel action over false abuse allegations published by Exaro journalist David Hencke; Hencke and Graham Wilmer of the Lantern Project were ordered to pay more than £10,000 in compensation. Exaro was also criticised for publishing a leaked draft of a report concerning Jimmy Savile, a decision that Dame Janet Smith described as irresponsible and commercially motivated. By 2015, critics observed that the site appeared to publish little original news outside its continuing coverage of the alleged paedophile-ring story and material connected with an insolvency-monitoring service. Exaro ceased operating as a news website in 2016. Its legacy is therefore mixed: it demonstrated that a small digital outlet could generate parliamentary and institutional responses through investigative reporting, but its association with unsupported and damaging allegations ultimately overshadowed its earlier work on public accountability.

Exaro was launched in October 2011 as a London-based digital publication devoted to investigative journalism. Its public identity was built around the slogan “Holding Power to Account” and a promise to publish open-access, evidence-based reporting. The organization was reportedly set up by City of London fund manager Jerome Booth. Mark Watts became editor-in-chief, and the publication recruited journalists to investigate government, business, policing, defence, and media institutions. During its early period, Exaro produced several investigations that received wider political or media attention. In February 2012, it reported that Ed Lester, chief executive of the Student Loans Company, was being paid through a private company. The arrangement was alleged to have reduced his tax liability and led to an urgent parliamentary debate. Danny Alexander, then Chief Secretary to the Treasury, announced a review of civil-service contracts. Exaro also investigated alleged corruption in a UK-Saudi defence arrangement involving GPT Special Project Management, an EADS subsidiary. The Serious Fraud Office began a criminal investigation into bribery allegations in August 2012 after Exaro had published a substantial series of reports. In media reporting, Exaro worked with Channel 4 News to publish recordings of Rupert Murdoch discussing the News of the World phone-hacking affair and his attitude toward journalists at The Sun. The publication’s most consequential reporting concerned claims made by Carl Beech under the pseudonym “Nick.” Exaro journalists, including Mark Conrad, reported allegations that a network of prominent people had sexually abused children at Elm Guest House in Barnes in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Tom Watson, a Labour member of Parliament who had received information from Exaro journalists, raised the allegations in Parliament. Police responded with Operation Fairbank, a preliminary scoping exercise, and then Operation Fernbridge, a more focused investigation into the Elm Guest House claims. Operation Fernbridge was later closed after investigators found no evidence supporting the allegations. The claims subsequently became part of Operation Midland, the Metropolitan Police investigation into alleged sexual abuse and murders by a supposed high-profile paedophile ring. Operation Midland cost approximately £2 million and ended in 2016 without charges. A later review found that the men accused by Beech had been victims of false allegations, and the Metropolitan Police commissioner apologised to them. Beech was convicted in July 2019 and sentenced to eighteen years in prison for offences linked to his fabricated claims. Exaro editor Mark Watts continued to argue that the site had not presented Beech’s allegations as established fact, but his defence of the reporting became a major part of the controversy surrounding the publication. Exaro faced sustained criticism from legal commentators, Private Eye, and others who argued that its treatment of the allegations created an atmosphere of hysteria and threatened fair proceedings. Former Conservative MP Harvey Proctor, whose home was searched during the police investigation, said that Exaro had operated as Beech’s support team. The site was also criticised for publishing a leaked draft of Dame Janet Smith’s report concerning Jimmy Savile. Smith described the decision as irresponsible and said it appeared to have been made for commercial gain without proper regard for victims or the integrity of the reporting process. A separate libel case brought by former MP John Hemming resulted in compensation in January 2019 over false abuse allegations published by Exaro journalist David Hencke. By September 2015, Private Eye reported that Exaro had published little news unrelated to the paedophile allegations and an insolvency-monitoring service operated alongside the news site. Exaro ceased operating in 2016. Its history combines notable accountability journalism with a damaging failure of verification and editorial judgment that came to dominate public assessments of the brand.

• 2019

  Libel judgment involving Exaro reporting

  [1]Exaroen.wikipedia.org

  John Hemming wins a libel action over false abuse allegations published by Exaro journalist David Hencke.

• 2016

  Exaro ceases operations

  [1]Exaroen.wikipedia.org

  The publication stops operating after a period in which its coverage was dominated by the discredited allegations associated with Carl Beech.

• 2012

  Student Loans Company investigation prompts parliamentary review

  [1]Exaroen.wikipedia.org

  A report on Ed Lester’s private-company payment arrangement leads to an urgent parliamentary debate and a review of civil-service contracts.

• 2012

  Serious Fraud Office opens defence-contract investigation

  [1]Exaroen.wikipedia.org

  The SFO launches a criminal investigation into alleged bribery related to a UK-Saudi defence contract that Exaro had repeatedly investigated.

• 2011

  Exaro launches

  [1]Exaroen.wikipedia.org

  Exaro begins operating as a London-based investigative journalism website with the stated aim of producing open-access, evidence-based reporting.

Independent, evidence-led investigative journalism focused on political accountability, public-sector transparency, institutional misconduct, and stories that mainstream outlets were perceived to have underreported.

• Digital journalism · 2011

  Exaro investigative news

  The publication’s principal offering was free online investigative reporting about government, public-sector administration, business, defence procurement, media conduct, and political affairs. Its editorial proposition emphasized original documents, sources, and stories that could prompt institutional accountability rather than conventional daily-news volume.

• Business information

  Corporate insolvency-monitoring service

  Exaro operated or published material connected with a corporate insolvency-monitoring service alongside its news activity. By 2015, critics noted that this business-information material formed a visible part of the site’s output while broader original news coverage had diminished.

• 2015

  Criticism over editorial focus and sensational allegations

  Private Eye and legal commentators criticised Exaro for devoting substantial attention to the alleged paedophile-ring story, arguing that its presentation of unverified claims risked harming accused people and compromising fair trials.

  Source

• 2015

  Publication of leaked Jimmy Savile report draft

  Dame Janet Smith criticised Exaro after it published a leaked draft of her report into Jimmy Savile, describing the publication decision as irresponsible and damaging to victims and the reporting process.

  Source

• 2014

  Coverage of Carl Beech’s false paedophile-ring allegations

  Exaro published and promoted allegations made by Carl Beech, using the pseudonym Nick, about a powerful paedophile ring, abuse at Elm Guest House, and associated murders. The claims contributed to police investigations including Operation Fairbank, Operation Fernbridge, and Operation Midland, but were later found to be false. Beech was convicted in 2019.

  Source

Read more

• 2016

  End operationsOther

  Background

  Exaro’s output had narrowed substantially and its reputation was increasingly tied to the discredited Carl Beech allegations.

  Action taken

  The website ceased operating during 2016.

  Aftermath

  The brand became primarily associated with the Operation Midland controversy rather than its earlier investigations into public accountability.

  Source

• 2012

  Pursue sustained defence-contract investigationStrategy

  Background

  Exaro investigated allegations of bribery involving a UK-Saudi defence contract and GPT Special Project Management.

  Action taken

  The publication ran more than twenty reports over approximately seven months before the Serious Fraud Office opened a criminal investigation.

  Aftermath

  The reporting preceded formal law-enforcement scrutiny of the allegations.

  Source

• 2011

  Adopt an open-access investigative modelStrategy

  Background

  Exaro entered the British digital-news market as a specialist investigative outlet rather than a general daily-news publisher.

  Action taken

  It positioned its journalism around public-interest investigations, evidence-led reporting, and scrutiny of powerful institutions, offering its material without a conventional paywall.

  Aftermath

  The model produced several investigations that reached Parliament, regulators, or broadcast partners, but the publication later became dominated by controversial coverage of unsupported abuse allegations.

  Source

1. 1Exaroen.wikipedia.org