Pippa Crerar

Pippa Crerar (born 19 June 1976) is a British journalist who is the political editor of The Guardian. She was previously the Daily Mirror's political editor from 2018 to 2022. While at the Mirror, she reported extensively on Partygate, a political scandal which culminated in the resignation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Pippa Crerar
Born	(1976-06-19) 19 June 1976 (age 47) Edinburgh, Scotland
Education	The Glasgow Academy
Alma mater	Newcastle University
Occupation	Journalist

Early life

Crerar was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 19 June 1976. She spent her childhood in Edinburgh and in Glasgow, where she attended The Glasgow Academy.^[1] Her father ran a printing company and her mother is an academic. Crerar attended Newcastle University, where she studied English. She was a Scott Trust Bursary recipient on City University's postgraduate newspaper journalism course.^[2]

She is married to Tom Whitehead, who works as a senior civil servant in the Cabinet Office.^[3]

Career

Before joining the Daily Mirror, Crerar worked as Political Correspondent and City Hall editor for the Evening Standard^[4] throughout Boris Johnson’s tenure as London Mayor. She has also previously been deputy political editor at The Guardian,^[5] where she was a presenter of the Politics Weekly podcast.^[6] Crerar is a presenter of BBC Radio 4's programme The Week in Westminster,^[7] and has appeared regularly on The Andrew Marr Show, Politics Live, as well as weekly on Sky News.^[8]

Crerar was the Daily Mirror's political editor from 2018 to 2022.^[9] She was chair of the Parliamentary Press Gallery 2020/21.^[10]

In May 2020, Crerar revealed that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's special adviser Dominic Cummings had broken COVID-19 lockdown rules by travelling from London to County Durham while experiencing symptoms of the disease, and that he had been investigated by police. Cummings made a statement in the garden of 10 Downing Street acknowledging his movements, but retained his position.^[11]

In November 2021, Crerar published an article stating that a Christmas party had taken place in Downing Street in 2020, in contravention of lockdown rules.^[12] The article was followed by further articles in the Mirror, as well as content from other publications and broadcasters alleging further parties in what became known as Partygate.^[13] In December 2021, she published a photograph in the Mirror showing former Conservative London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey at a Christmas party in December 2020.^[14] In January 2022, she published further articles on Partygate, including on "wine time" Fridays at Downing Street^[15] and a festive quiz.^[16] On January 25, the Metropolitan Police announced that it would investigate Downing Street parties during lockdown.^[17]

In March 2022, the British Journalism Review said of Crerar: "Our profession should ultimately be about only one thing: fearless truth-telling and truthful reporting, regardless of the consequences. She’s shown how the job should be done, and in the process played a major role in turning the Mirror back into a paper of which its legendary campaigning boss Hugh Cudlipp could feel proud".^[18]

Crerar became political editor of The Guardian in August 2022, succeeding Heather Stewart.^[19]

Awards

Crerar was Political Reporter of the Year at the Society of Editors' Press Awards 2020, where she also won Scoop of the Year. The judges said: "Crerar has had a fantastic year, showing tenacity, courage and persistence in her reporting". She won Scoop of the Year at the British Journalism Awards 2020 and at the London Press Club Awards 2020/21.^[20][21][22]

References

1. "Etcetera" (PDF). 2019.
2. "XCity Magazine 2021 | By City, University of London, Journalism Department by Jason Bennetto - Issuu". issuu.com. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
3. "Britain's political power couples ranked". Politico. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
4. "Pippa Crerar | Evening Standard". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
5. "Women in Westminster 2021". Politics Home. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
6. Toynbee, Presented by Pippa Crerar with Polly; Newman, Henry; Arthur, Jason; Jones, Sam; Barnard, Jennifer Rankin Produced by Simon (22 November 2018). "'A Brexit deal is within our grasp' – Politics Weekly podcast". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
7. "Quinn, Carolyn, (born 22 July 1961), Presenter: PM programme, BBC Radio 4, since 2000; Westminster Hour, BBC Radio 4, since 2007", Who's Who, Oxford University Press, 1 December 2007, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.45073, retrieved 23 March 2022
8. "Pippa Crerar". IMDB. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
9. "The Mirror: The Heart of Britain". mirror. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
10. "Administration committee". 29 June 2020.
11. Crerar, Pippa; Armstrong, Jeremy (22 May 2020). "Dominic Cummings investigated by police after breaking Covid-19 lockdown rules". mirror. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
12. "Quinn, Carolyn, (born 22 July 1961), Presenter: PM programme, BBC Radio 4, since 2000; Westminster Hour, BBC Radio 4, since 2007", Who's Who, Oxford University Press, 1 December 2007, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.45073, retrieved 23 March 2022
13. Bradley, P.; Bond, V.; Bradley, P.; Rathe, P. (18 July 2008). "The student from hell - a horror story for Christmas". Medical Education. 34 (12): 1040–1042. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2923.2000.00811.x. ISSN 0308-0110. PMID 11123575. S2CID 31528200.
14. Crerar, Pippa (14 December 2021). "Picture shows 'raucous' Christmas party thrown by Tory aides in lockdown breach". mirror. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
15. Crerar, Pippa (14 January 2022). "Boris Johnson's 'wine time Fridays' - No10 staff drinks every week in pandemic". mirror. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
16. Crerar, Pippa (9 February 2022). "New bombshell pic shows Boris Johnson and open bottle of bubbly at No 10 quiz". The Mirror. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
17. "Police to investigate Downing Street lockdown parties". BBC News. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
18. Peter, Osborne (4 March 2022). "Helping power escape truth - Helping power escape truth". doi:10.1177/09564748221083128. S2CID 247237450. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
19. Crerar, Pippa [@PippaCrerar] (10 May 2022). "I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be rejoining The Guardian as Political Editor this summer, taking over from the inestimable @GuardianHeather" (Tweet). Retrieved 10 May 2022 – via Twitter.
20. "Gallery of Winners – Society of Editors". Retrieved 23 March 2022.
21. "British Journalism Awards winners 2020". Press Gazette. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
22. "Winners announced at first 'in person' media awards since the pandemic". London Press Club. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2022.