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Ian Birrell

Columnist & Foreign Correspondent

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‘Never seen before’: How Katrina set off an education revolution
Education / United States

‘Never seen before’: How Katrina set off an education revolution

Published by The Washington Post (28th August, 2025)

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How Katrina saved New Orleans schools
Education / United States

How Katrina saved New Orleans schools

Published by UnHerd (25th August, 2025)

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Disability / Education

The world’s wealthiest dynasty is growing richer from Britain’s SEND crisis

Published by The i paper (2nd June, 2025)

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Education / Health / Policy / Politics

Schools offer a lesson on Labour’s confusion

Published by The i paper (9th January, 2025)

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Covid19 / Education / Health / Policy

How Edinburgh University stifled my investigation

Published by UnHerd (19th January, 2024) Almost 150 years ago, a young medical student at Edinburgh University was inspired by one of his lecturers to devise a detective […]

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Education / Europe / Finland / Policy / Technology

Why Finnish children see through fake news

Published by The i paper (25th May, 2023) Darja Rekani clearly remembers the day in primary school when a teacher showed a series of news reports before asking […]

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China / Defence / Education / Policy / World

MI6 fears over UK university links to Beijing as at least 12 of them are probed by spooks

Published by The Mail on Sunday (7th February, 2012) (Written with Glen Owen, Political Editor) More than a dozen British universities are under investigation over commercial relationships with […]

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Education / Health / Policy / Politics

Quangos, cronies and the government blame game

Published by The i paper (24th August, 2020) This pandemic has exposed defects in our nation with hideous efficiency. It has shown the lack of concern for social […]

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Education / Policy / Politics

A lesson on universities for the government

Published by The Sun (20th February, 2018) Theresa May’s review into university funding, announced yesterday after much briefing, should be seen for what it is – a deeply […]

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Education / Policy / Politics

Cutting tuition fees would just benefit wealthy graduates

Published by The Times (19th September, 2017) The Tories have woken up suddenly to the generational divide. Bribing pensioners and banging on about Europe won just enough votes […]

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Education / Policy / Politics

The future of liberalism in an age of terror

Published by The i paper (5th June, 2017) Six weeks ago I was in South Korea as parties finalised pitches in a presidential election. Over dinner one night […]

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Education / Immigration / Policy

Misguided May’s mess over migration

Published by the ipaper (24th October, 2016) Paul Saunders was stunned when, after marrying a Cuban earlier this year, he discovered they were banned from living together in […]

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Ian Birrell is an award-winning columnist, foreign correspondent, feature writer and investigative journalist. He is contributing editor of The Mail on Sunday, a weekly columnist in The i Paper and writes frequently for other papers and platforms. He is also co-founder with Damon Albarn of Africa Express, the acclaimed collaborative music project. (Pictured: Talking to refugees in Iraq fleeing Islamic State)... Read More.

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