David Collins
@DavidCollinsST
Followers
10,801
Following
3,631
Media
757
Statuses
13,095
Northern Editor @thetimes . Co-presenter podcast: COCAINE INC. Author: The Hunt for the Silver Killer. Second book, Saffie, out next year
Joined June 2010
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
Garbage
• 1189006 Tweets
Joe Biden
• 569263 Tweets
River
• 375870 Tweets
Yankees
• 215989 Tweets
Gaga
• 157480 Tweets
Dodgers
• 156229 Tweets
Mineiro
• 117516 Tweets
Luka
• 85021 Tweets
Monumental
• 84430 Tweets
ポケポケ
• 67769 Tweets
Borja
• 58207 Tweets
#RoçaAFazenda
• 57993 Tweets
Camila
• 52951 Tweets
Deyverson
• 51897 Tweets
Gallardo
• 51855 Tweets
Game 5
• 45190 Tweets
FAYE 1M7 JOURNEY
• 44974 Tweets
ヤンキース
• 44945 Tweets
CLIKCLAK MV OUT NOW
• 44923 Tweets
Volpe
• 44117 Tweets
#BABYMONSTER_CLIKCLAK_MV
• 37973 Tweets
LINGORM N2U LIVE
• 30395 Tweets
#nicetwoMeatuxLingOrm
• 28079 Tweets
Luana
• 26582 Tweets
Colidio
• 15777 Tweets
Milito
• 15446 Tweets
Meza
• 14723 Tweets
Everson
• 13771 Tweets
Zion
• 13662 Tweets
初恋の日
• 12548 Tweets
Solari
• 10975 Tweets
Pinned Tweet
A preview of Saffie: out April next year, telling the story of Saffie-Rose Roussos the youngest victim of the Manchester Arena bomb.
Written with her parents, Andrew and Lisa Roussos, it will explore the events surrounding the attack like never before.
4
6
15
Hard to understand why Telford scandal is not front of every paper. 1000 children.
1K
4K
18K
In tomorrow's
@thesundaytimes
we speak to three separate witnesses, each one a resident of Barnard Castle, and compare their alleged sightings of Dominic Cummings on April 12th with his rose garden statement in No10 on Monday...
Stay tuned.
2K
3K
10K
No way can workers in tier 3 be paid over two thirds pay, govt ministers told Manchester! It can’t be done! It doesn’t make economic sense! Less than two weeks later - national furlough (80% pay) extended.
105
2K
7K
Let's not forget the govt's negotiations with Manchester fell apart because of the support being bargained for by Manchester's leaders to close the gap between the 67% and the 80%.
Ministers said Manchester was asking for too much.
12 days later - the nation gets 80%
85
1K
6K
INVESTIGATION:
A dead policeman’s iPhone has revealed a toxic culture at his force with officers linked to sexual misconduct, racism, homophobia, data breaches, and criminality.
Our story begins with Ricky Jones, jumping from the Prince of Wales Bridge
88
2K
3K
Detective Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin tracked down Wayne Couzens within a week of him taking Sarah Everard.
Amid all the coverage today, it’s worth remembering that is an extraordinary investigation and effort by her team.
45
174
2K
NEW: Contracts for PPE worth over £180m have been awarded to companies owned or run by prominent Tory supporters
We identify 12 contracts given to three firms with links to Tory donors or members
Govt say ministers not involved in awarding contracts, as Labour call for inquiry
In
@thesundaytimes
tomorrow see our investigation into PPE contracts handed out to companies owned or run by prominent Tories, as Labour calls for an inquiry into an allegations of "cronyism"
Worth a read
me with
@andrewgregory
@Gabriel_Pogrund
@TomCalver2
21
263
528
85
1K
2K
Greater Manchester has recorded a drop of 37% in the numbers of rough sleepers in one year, figures released today show. The drop is largely due to the Bed for a Night scheme, set up by Andy Burnham, Mayor of GM.
33
254
2K
Spent a lot of time in Barnard Castle this week. I love it up there. The people. The little shops made of stone that have been around a hundred years. The River Tees. Below is a pic of the view Dominic Cummings had from where he parked.
38
383
2K
I always knew Everton were the people’s club, but I have newfound respect for them after learning about their impact on vulnerable families in Merseyside during the pandemic. 26,000 families helped, free meals, mobile phone credit, electricity and gas vouchers...amazing
In
@thesundaytimes
tomorrow read our exclusive behind the scenes report about the extraordinary work of
@Everton
and
@EITC
during this pandemic, as we hear “welfare calls” to the community from both
@MrAncelotti
and
@CalvertLewin14
. Both funny and moving. Not to be missed!
11
167
617
27
356
2K
“It costs £4 for a bus ticket in Manchester and £1.50 for a bus ticket in London. The test of Boris Johnson’s commitment to the North is in making a public transport system which is comparable to London,” says Andy Burnham, Manchester mayor, in tomorrow’s
@thesundaytimes
80
302
2K
Debate about the north and Manchester. Studios London. South London. North London. Westminster.
34
232
1K
Dominic Cummings was ‘spotted on riverside path in Barnard Castle’
58
485
876
the iPhone reveals:
*A police officer who left the force after 30 years of service sent images of Grenfell Tower on fire titled “The Great Muslim Bakeoff”; image of Boris Johnson posting a letter through the eye area of woman in burka; and a racist image about new royal baby
16
394
868
Bit of personal news.
I have been appointed Northern Editor of the Sunday Times. Very grateful to
@EmmaTuckerST
and all those who have supported me over the years. It's a pleasure to work for a newspaper which takes coverage of the regions so seriously.
150
19
832
After his death, Jones’s eldest daughter searched his iPhone, hoping to get some insight into her father’s cruelty. The phone exposed one of the most toxic police cultures in the UK, in thousands of WhatsApp and Facebook messages now subject to investigation by Wiltshire Police
7
260
775
Jones, 26 years a police officer, mostly for Gwent Police, was found dead in the River Severn in January 2020. To the world he was a respected retired cop and family man. But to his wife and three daughters, he was responsible for decades of domestic abuse...
10
320
686
*same racist officer offered to hide money from the wife of another officer ahead of possible divorce proceedings, claiming he had done the same for a senior police chief - a serious criminal offence which can carry a jail term for fraud
1
173
650
In
@thesundaytimes
tomorrow read our exclusive behind the scenes report about the extraordinary work of
@Everton
and
@EITC
during this pandemic, as we hear “welfare calls” to the community from both
@MrAncelotti
and
@CalvertLewin14
. Both funny and moving. Not to be missed!
11
167
617
Manchester Evening News now getting the government attack campaign that the Sunday Times has had for the last few weeks. It’s an appalling bad place to be for this government. It hasn’t gone well in the US. Those sorts of tactics won’t work well here.
20
121
581
"My daughter has started avoiding eating lunch and supper because she thinks it will save me money on the food bill...She’s 14." Reality of lockdown for the Excluded.
@AndyBurnhamGM
@MetroMayorSteve
19
135
586
Read here for the full story - a story of corruption at a police force, and the secret life of Ricky Jones, a retired veteran officer, whose love affairs were only uncovered once his family accessed his mobile phone 👇
20
218
571
In
@thesundaytimes
tomorrow see our investigation into PPE contracts handed out to companies owned or run by prominent Tories, as Labour calls for an inquiry into an allegations of "cronyism"
Worth a read
me with
@andrewgregory
@Gabriel_Pogrund
@TomCalver2
21
263
528
Everton fan Billy Culshaw, 80, is supported by welfare calls from England star
@CalvertLewin14
; Mark Cruise, who has motor neurone disease, is in touch with
@MrAncelotti
. 26,000 families have been helped by Everton during the pandemic
11
114
515
*Eight serving and retired officers in a WhatsApp group containing racist and homophobic language, including abuse such as “poof” and “PC Closet”, calling Asian men "slopes" (apologies for offensive lang)
1
137
470
*A male officer who groped a young probationer and exhibited a "pattern" of behaviour
*A chief inspector described the force as “corrupt” and a serving inspector complained how corrupt officers are given “warnings, moved shifts, moved stations” to recycle their reputations
3
132
453
Remember this? HS2/NPR working in tandem, as envisaged by TfN (see Liverpool for why one depends on other), completely modernising rail travel in north, midlands, beyond.
There is no alternative being offered, apart from a vague idea to upgrade lines. Where? What lines? When?
22
169
477
Jones's iPhone is now in the hands of Wiltshire Police who last week confirmed an inquiry by their PSD team. Meanwhile Gwent Police's chief constable has released a statement to The Sunday Times...
6
110
415
Pam Kelly, Gwent Police chief constable, said: "The content we have been made aware of is abhorrent and any officers identified by the investigation as having breached either professional standards or the criminal threshold will be held accountable..."
5
106
414
Government unveil major new transport link to Leeds
The long road home on track used by travellers for thousands of years.
#ilkley
@yorkshirepost
3
6
40
6
55
393
NEW: Here is my piece on Abu Dhabi’s business deals with Manchester City Council which have seen Sheik Mansour’s private equity company acquire a property empire in Manchester
59
117
375
INVESTIGATION:
Read the story of "Patient A" - a 24-year-old autistic man held for four years in a private apartment made from an old file room inside Cheadle Royal Hospital.
His only contact with the outside world? A hatch in the wall.
58
248
363
Was just asked on BBC News channel about Andy Burnham being too proud to take a deal.
There are 10 borough leaders in GM saying the same as Burnham, along with many senior Tory MPs. The idea this is about one man being too "proud" is Whitehall dark arts at play.
5. Govt source says ‘Other local leaders in GM were more reasonable and constructive but Burnham was too proud to make a deal.’
6. GM source says there was 'unanimity' on their side, and govt was 'trying to grind us' into accepting a deal that was too low
350
23
85
9
120
370
INVESTIGATION:
Four weeks ago we reported the murder of a 21-year-old Kenyan woman in 2012, last seen with a British soldier.
We asked: what happened to Agnes Wanjiru?
Today, we give the answer, as the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment faces a major probe
21
185
302
@SophyRidgeSky
Why did govt ministers tell Manchester 80% pay cover for workers was impossible when two weeks later they did exactly that for the whole country?
4
37
288
I think the Red Wall, quite rightly, will be seriously questioning the govt's levelling up agenda tonight.
The UK deserves better than a London-first strategy through this pandemic.
5
35
275
Good to see BBC News at Ten reporting from Liverpool tonight. Brilliant front line reporting from Royal Liverpool hospital.
One patient, Douglas Thom, says: "All these people who go round saying it's a hoax and just a bit of a bad cold they need to get their heads straight."
6
65
269
Wow. Dan Jarvis has won a bid for £570m transport spend for South Yorkshire.
Not a bad goodbye present from the Sheffield City Region mayor!
@DanJarvisMP
8
26
279
BREAK: Sacha Lord, Night Time Economy Adviser to the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has started legal proceedings to challenge the Government's impending lockdown of hospitality and entertainment venues across the north of England.
1/
9
126
265
Northern leaders unite to demand more lockdown support, with
@AndyBurnhamGM
And
@DanJarvisMP
23
64
262
@RWindscheffel
@DanielHewittITV
Feels like Christian zookeepers are being unfairly singled out
4
3
248
Sir Mo Farah took prescription drugs he did not need for any health reason to boost testosterone level, says Usada report
@thesundaytimes
34
331
218
Euston station, London, right now. Message board: “Passengers are strongly advised not to travel this afternoon and this evening on Avanti West Coast Services.”
It’s almost like we need a new railway line connecting the spine of the country so people can get anywhere.
15
31
227
Excited to say my first book - The Hunt for the Silver Killer - is out in May, published by
@simonschusterUK
The true story of two coroner's officers who found evidence of a serial killer at work in Cheshire. A murder mystery like no other..
Pre order:
41
53
226
Police are investigating the coroner’s officer who wrote a report concluding a serial killer is at work in Cheshire. Her alleged crime? Data protection breaches over sharing that report with external forensic experts. A story to chill every whistleblower
13
109
209
These profiles of Burnham are so poor.
This one - top of BBC today - I count two sentences relating to his work as mayor. Where is the detail relating to the last three years? He isn't on the cabinet anymore. Why are we reading ancient history?
18
31
215
Can’t beat an
@afneil
mullering - this time shadow Treasury minister defending Corbyn’s view we should send nerve agent to Russians for testing
"Mr Corbyn, he wants us to send samples of this nerve agent to Moscow, what would be the point of that?"
@afneil
asks
@AnnelieseDodds
“We have to keep the moral high ground on this, that means complying with those international rules" says shadow Treasury minister
#bbcdp
134
86
204
39
61
199
Super super proud to win the Paul Foot Award for investigative and campaigning journalism with
@HannahAlOthman
- thank you to everyone at the ST, Emma Tucker, Ben Taylor, Katherine Faulkner and the legal team to name just a few!
The winners of the 2022 Paul Foot Award for Investigative and Campaigning Journalism are… Hannah Al-Othman and David Collins for their investigation into the murder of Agnes Wanjiru in the Sunday Times.
4
75
382
28
13
214
Anyone who thinks we don’t need HS2 needs to see the shambles of the train service to London from Manchester this morning.
Cancelled trains. Passengers backed up. Scheduled trains now overcrowded and packed all morning. That’s the main service between our two major cities.
17
35
187
England's city regions will receive £6.9bn to improve train, tram, bus and cycle projects, in Wednesday's spending plan.
*Greater Manchester (£1.07bn)
*West Midlands (£1.05bn)
*West Yorkshire (£830m)
*Liverpool City region (£710m)
31
50
187
They say a picture paints a thousand words. Imagine this hatch being your only contact with the outside world. Now imagine that for four years.
Patient A is an autistic man, detained under the Mental Health Act, rending him powerless to leave his hospital apartment.
INVESTIGATION:
Read the story of "Patient A" - a 24-year-old autistic man held for four years in a private apartment made from an old file room inside Cheadle Royal Hospital.
His only contact with the outside world? A hatch in the wall.
58
248
363
14
114
187
4 per cent of High Court judges are from BAME background; in Crown Court it's 8 per cent
Today, a group of serving judges, most of them BAME, write about why discrimination and the old boy's network is alive and well in the judiciary, with
@nazirafzal
4
59
177
I thought we’d die in Southport Mosque. I almost jumped. My account of what really happened inside the mosque on Tuesday
6
75
179
The most London centric programme of all goes on tour with its team of London based reporters - why not hire people who don’t all sit in the same room in London to cover the nation? Doesn’t the BBC have 3000 journalists in Salford?
17
38
173
Must be people to interview outside of London too, surely
5
8
168
National lockdown debate by men from southeast. Studios London. South London. North London. Surrey.
9
37
175
I’d like to see a Sunday national politics show hosted once a month from somewhere in the north - with guests from across the regions, and London - showing true representation. Ideally a show that is based here full time. But I’d settle for once a month. Baby steps.
8
15
169
Manchester needs a tram that connects the suburbs - not just lines that travel into the centre and back out again. Getting into the city is very easy. Moving from Sale to Didsbury - nightmare
Greater Manchester's public transport system is holding it back, says Andy Burnham
3
5
11
26
13
168
If ministers are seriously, as this article suggests, reviewing devolution plans because one of the mayors was sticking up for his region by doing what he thought was right for workers and businesses, then I would question this govt’s commitment to anything outside of London 1/
15
47
157
Said it before, but FT Weekend is one of the best print product offerings out there. The range of reporting and features is really good, as is the quality of the writing
5
9
152
Andy Burnham calls for the English regions to be represented on a reconvened Cobra committee ahead of winter to improve local/central govt dialogue (something which has been exposed as lacking during this pandemic). I wrote about this back in April
6
35
144
This is the 8pm train to Manchester from Euston. Field of people.
40
39
144
NEW: Letter to Boris Johnson from a long list of northern political leaders calls for a "free vote" on govt's rail plans in Parliament.
Letter says cuts to Eastern Leg of HS2 and Leeds to Liverpool route ignores advice of rail reviews, political leaders and business.
1/
10
48
145
I do feel bad for people who are having their job moved, but the idea moving World Service to Manchester will turn it in the “Little England” broadcast has no basis in reality. Have they seen MediaCity?
24
5
145
In November, General Sir Nick Carter promised a quick and effective investigation into Agnes's murder in Kenya.
Eight months on. Soldiers who were eyewitnesses not interviewed, and ex British soldier and prime suspect is still walking about a free man
6
72
140
“These are industrial levels of abuse, racism and potential corruption,” says
@nazirafzal
, who has been supporting the family of Ricky Jones. “There needs to be a public inquiry into police culture nationally.”
INVESTIGATION:
A dead policeman’s iPhone has revealed a toxic culture at his force with officers linked to sexual misconduct, racism, homophobia, data breaches, and criminality.
Our story begins with Ricky Jones, jumping from the Prince of Wales Bridge
88
2K
3K
3
57
142
Classic! National debate on businesses struggling during lockdown. Studios London. Central London. West London. South West London. You do realise there are businesses outside of London, right?
9
18
142
In
@thesundaytimes
tomorrow read my investigation into private jets coming in and out of the country during the lockdown, and why the time may be right for regional representation on Cobra. Insight’s investigation into the govt’s failings on virus prep in Feb is also a must read
11
41
137
Here's the outrage for GM:
The current offer works out at £7.86 per head for a population of 2.8 million.
Liverpool city region received £44m for an area of 1.5 million people, while Lancashire got £42m for a similar population – about £29.30 per head and £28 per head
4
101
139
A Sunday Times investigation, based on a cache of documents, reveals how Lucy Letby was offered a new job at world-renowned children's hospital Alder Hey, and funding for a master's degree, after hospital bosses took her side
with
@ShaunLintern
4
53
134
EXCLUSIVE:
Mohammed El-Saeiti, a former imam at Didsbury Mosque, is being assisted by police in moving from his Manchester home after facing death threats, stalking and harassment. Comes after he gave evidence to the Manchester bomb inquiry last year.
10
68
130
This is sad. Buried in this is the fact that the BBC will be cutting down on Inside Out - its regional investigations programme. We need more investigative reporting and not less from the BBC during these times - particularly from the regions
7
44
127
INVESTIGATION:
Veteran police officers joked about sending Jimmy Savile to rescue Thai boys trapped in a cave and swapped nude pictures of a female footballer.
We reveal new messages on a dead policeman's iPhone exposing Gwent Police's toxic culture
12
47
121
“Soldiers should not be buying sex anywhere” - powerful piece from
@VictoriaPeckham
, which looks at rule changes to soldiers buying sex, brought in following our work on Agnes Wanjiru’s murder in Kenya
3
24
124
Nothing more dad-like than doing a “final sweep” of a hotel room
7
3
122
INVESTIGATION:
In 2012, a 21-year-old Kenyan mother was found murdered in a hotel in Nanyuki, last seen by eyewitnesses with a British soldier.
What happened to Agnes Wanjiru?
With
@HannahAlOthman
4
67
116
Liverpool and Manchester's leaders going into meetings with govt officials late afternoon to discuss next week's lockdown. Local officials hoping to get an idea of what will be happening next week. Weddings? Funerals? One council leader tells me: "Who knows - read the Times."
8
36
122
Breathtaking
*Office for National Statistics says that there have been 174,413 deaths involving Covid since March 2020 in England and Wales
* 133,623 “excess” deaths
*cost of debt of pandemic is £450bn and counting
stay informed with
@dsmitheconomics
5
61
120
Telegraph perhaps wishing they had a news reporter in the north. Or just somewhere that isn’t London.
7
3
117
dismantling the BBC would be a huge blow for the regions, and Salford. The BBC has also committed 3000 more staff to the regions. If this government want to “level up”, they should think carefully about that. Media City has been a huge boost for the North
14
40
122
No offence to the other cities , but Liverpool would be a cracking host city for Eurovision 2023. The M&S Bank Arena is stunning on King’s Dock. It feels like such a good fit for it.
3
14
117
INVESTIGATION:
Last month it was reported an organised crime group called "The Company" received Covid Bounce Back Loans. But how did they spend it?
Read how taxpayers' cash paid to ship stolen family cars to the Middle East.
With
@HannahAlOthman
5
83
112
Manchester’s tram system is truly a thing of brilliance
22
5
114
His strength is his ability to communicate complicated issues in a simple way that feels very real. Buses and trams matter to people.
We made a little film about the reality of public transport in Greater Manchester and why it needs to change. Have a watch.👇🏻
436
2K
13K
6
10
113
Andy Burnham, Mayor of GM, and Steve Rotheram, Mayor for Liverpool City Region, to hold remote press conference tomorrow to discuss coronavirus recovery plans for the North. Liverpool’s economy relies heavily on tourism and hospitality, as well as the finances of the city council
3
28
111
Jeremy Wisten, who played at Manchester City until he was dropped just before his GCSEs, took his own life a fortnight ago.
He never recovered from the rejection, his family said.
A case which should worry the world of football.
With
@Lawton_Times
8
43
108
My favourite story Andy Burnham tells is when he was doing his school work experience placement. He told teachers he wanted a job which meant a) lots of travel b) meeting people. So they put him in a Thomas Cook in St Helens. Always makes me chuckle. So very Northern comp.
His strength is his ability to communicate complicated issues in a simple way that feels very real. Buses and trams matter to people.
6
10
113
3
8
110
The power of journalism. Sunday Times reporting making a difference on the streets of Manchester.
Rest easy tonight. We're on it.
@HannahAlOthman
BREAKING NEWS: SLICES ARE NOW SUBSTANTIAL
The head of Greater Manchester Police Licensing got on the blower to let us know that Slice Gate has been revisited and our Nell’s Pizza slices (cut from 22 inch pizzas) are now officially deemed substantial.
63
127
1K
2
13
108
Football these days is often associated with millionaire players who care only about themselves. See how
@Everton
@EITC
are busting the stereotype with their fantastic work in the community during the pandemic👇
Everton fan Billy Culshaw, 80, is supported by welfare calls from England star
@CalvertLewin14
; Mark Cruise, who has motor neurone disease, is in touch with
@MrAncelotti
. 26,000 families have been helped by Everton during the pandemic
11
114
515
4
22
107
In
@thesundaytimes
tomorrow, we look at Boohoo group’s operations in Sheffield as workers tell of their concerns over health and safety during the lockdown; also,
@HannahAlOthman
makes her brilliant reporting debut!
2
7
104
Also fair to say the goalposts were moved significantly once again tonight by the Treasury - despite large areas of the north, their workers and businesses having struggled for months. Bolton's pubs and restaurants have been shut bar takeaways since early Sept
3
12
101
The myth of a reactionary 'red wall' obscures the causes of the north-south divide | North of England | The Guardian
4
31
99
Reach hits record audience growth as Manchester Evening News tops 100m page views in a month - great news for the MEN
7
21
102
Boris’ team will have to start realising that simply taking the London lobby on a tour of the U.K. and getting them to ask all the questions isn’t good enough. I saw it with his first speech in Manchester. The regions have their own reporters who deserve a chance to ask questions
8
32
100
“We call it the boys’ club,” a woman pushed out of Gwent police said. “People say the police are racist,misogynistic and homophobic. Gwent police tick every box.” A thundering chief leader (courtesy of the wonderful writer
@olivershah
)
9
55
98
The BBC has 3000 staff in Salford. Maybe get somebody who knows something about Manchester to write a profile on its mayor.
Literally does my head in.
4
9
97