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Barrie Williams

What we have written about Barrie Williams

Reporters sleep rough to get full story on flood disaster

Reporters slept rough in their cars to stay in Boscastle and file the full story on the area’s devastating floods for the Western Morning News. Two reporters and two photographers were able to get into the heart of the village

Westcountry paper slams 'waste of space' Beckett

The Western Morning News has criticised MP Margaret Beckett for failing to help Westcountry dairy farmers who are struggling to cope with low milk prices. The paper questioned the rural affairs secretary’s position after she said there was “no point”

News in brief

The Cheddar Valley Gazette is getting into the spirit of its 50th anniversary this year by offering an unusual service to readers…It is giving them the chance to find out what was going on on the day they were born,

Editor appointed ambassador to Prince Charles

Western Morning News editor Barrie Williams is now Prince Charles’ official Business in the Community Ambassador for the South West of England. The accolade was given by the Prince of Wales in recognition of the paper’s work for countryside communities.

Trusty lieutenant takes up a new challenge

Editor Barrie Williams has paid a warm tribute to his lieutenant, Tony Moss, who is leaving the Western Morning News after their partnership of 24 years both in Plymouth, and previously at the Nottingham Evening Post. Tony began his career

Poll shows "public wants proof" of need for war

Readers of the Western Morning News have voted overwhelmingly against British forces going to war with Iraq. In a poll run by the newspaper, 96 per cent – 2,115 readers – said “no” to war, while just four per cent

Customs ignores journalist's plea: Editor goes on warpath

Customs measures to keep the UK free from another foot and mouth epidemic from imported foreign meat have been slammed by the Western Morning News. Editor Barrie Williams says that Farming Minister Lord Whitty has fudged an explanation of the

Newspaper gets the interview it wanted – after 18 months

Margaret Beckett has ended her long silence and finally granted the Western Morning News an interview. The rural affairs secretary this week spoke to the paper’s London editor, Jason Groves, about some of Britain’s most pressing rural concerns – 18

Gloucester evening appoints new editor

Ian Mean has been appointed the new editor of The Citizen, Gloucester, succeeding Spencer Feeney, who is moving to Swansea to edit the South Wales Evening Post. Ian, (55), is currently assistant editor, (news and marketing), at the Western Morning

Regionals praised in foot and mouth inquiry

The Western Morning News and Western Daily Press were two newspapers singled out for praise in Dr Iain Anderson’s report into the foot and mouth crisis. The report – Lessons to be Learned – acknowledged the valuable role the WMN

Railways plea editor asks for more money

Western Morning News editor Barrie Williams has called for investment in the railways to prevent the south west becoming “economically and socially peripheral to Europe”. His call, as the Voice of the Westcountry in his paper’s editorial column, came on

'Gateway' triumph marked by WMN

A £34.6m project to widen and strengthen the Tamar Bridge in Plymouth has been marked with an eight-page supplement from the Western Morning News. The Tamar Bridge Story looked at the history of the landmark and charted progress of the

Minister in row over paper's stance

The Western Morning News has come under attack from animal health minister Elliot Morley. He focused on the paper’s criticism of John Prescott’s claims that Labour had regenerated the Cornish economy. And he also took his chance to take a