Joel Adams

Joel Adams

Joel Adams is an investigative journalist. He currently works in Norfolk in the Archant Investigations Unit, where his work is published in the Eastern Daily Press and Norwich Evening News as well as weekly titles across the East of England. He has previously worked for MailOnline, the Daily Telegraph and the Brighton Argus.

Portfolio

A selection of stories published in regional and national titles. All are exclusives. Almost all are hard news investigations, a few others tell of changes which came about following investigations or campaigns of mine, plus there are a couple of human interest stories which are particularly close to my heart.

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Mail Online •

Homes by firm of Grand Designs' Kevin McCloud 'are like Fawlty Towers'

Residents in million-pound houses in a development built by Kevin McCloud's troubled housing firm have complained that two years after it was due to be finished the site is still covered in scaffolding, with unfinished pavements and no street lighting. HAB Housing, founded by McCloud, promised eco-friendly developments in Winchester and Oxford would be finished by 2017. But yesterday the Winchester location still has a building site with temporary toilets where the development promised a wildf
Mail Online •

Revealed: Jamie Oliver's restaurant empire lost £29m in one year

Jamie Oliver's restaurant empire was never financially successful and 'should have hit the panic alarm years ago', a high street expert has said, after figures analysed by MailOnline reveal the firm lost more in a single year than it ever made. The £29million loss in 2017 comes to light as it emerged banks and suppliers could pursue the wealthy celebrity chef personally, for debts built up by his now-defunct chain. The chef announced yesterday the struggling eateries would close, with 1,300 wo
Mail Online •

Revealed: RAF now has the smallest force of combat jets in its history

The RAF now has the smallest combat fleet in its history having lost nearly half its aircraft in the last twelve years, MailOnline can reveal. Britain's new supersonic F-35 Lightning fighter jets have just completed their first operational missions – rooting out the remnants of Islamic State in Syria and Iraq in 14 sorties over the past ten days. But following the retirement earlier this year of the last of the Air Force's beloved Tornados, the UK's 17 Lightnings are part of a forward availabl
Mail Online •

Revealed: Police forces have secretly slashed 5,500 PCSOs in 10 years

Police forces across the UK have quietly slashed the number of Police Community Support Officers by 5,500 over the last ten years - with knife-crime hit London axing two in every three, MailOnline can reveal. It comes after the capital suffered its 20th murder of 2019 and new figures revealed there were 285 knife killings in the UK in the last year – the highest toll since the Second World War. The number of PCSOs in the Metropolitan Police was slashed 68 per cent from 4,300 in March of 2008 t
Mail Online •

Saudi woman is trapped at Bangkok airport fears family will kill her

A Saudi woman who is being held in Bangkok after trying to escape her abusive family has told of her terror that she will be killed if she is deported. Rahaf Mohammed al Qunun, 18, has been trapped in the airport since arriving at 4am GMT on Sunday. She intended to reach Australia and apply for asylum but a Saudi official in the Thai airport confiscated her passport after her father reported her for travelling without her male 'guardian'. He claimed she was mentally ill but failed to provide a
Mail Online •

Calais migrants say they will keep attempting Channel crossings

Migrants in Calais yesterday swore to keep trying to make the perilous sea crossing to Britain, saying they are fearful of religious persecution in Iran and worried that claiming asylum in the UK will become harder after Brexit. One young Iranian who said he was on a boat stopped in the water over Christmas insisted he would try '200 times' to reach the UK despite having been terrified of drowning during the journey. Another said he would 'keep trying to get to England' despite having been in F
The Telegraph •

EXCL: Prosecutors consider criminal investigation of former Archbishop of Canterbury

Police and prosecutors are considering a criminal investigation into a former Archbishop of Canterbury over an alleged cover-up of sexual abuse. George Carey stepped down as an honorary bishop last year after a report found the Church had "colluded" with convicted sex abuser Bishop Peter Ball under his leadership. Now the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is discussing with Scotland Yard detectives whether to pursue criminal charges against Lord Carey, the Telegraph understands. The Metropolita
Brighton and Hove News •

Food for thought as Brighton and Hove pulls together to feed hundreds of homeless people

Six weeks ago Brighton and Hove City Council moved nearly 300 street sleepers and sofa-surfers into safe accommodation in empty hotels. Every day since, an army of volunteers – now 80-strong – has worked from 6.30am to source, prepare, cook and deliver meals to the city’s homeless. Freelance reporter Joel Adams spent a day with volunteers to see how the people of Brighton and Hove have come together to look after the most vulnerable among us in a time of need. “It’s seven days a week. I’ve wo
The Argus •

Asylum seeker granted refugee status after three-year fight

A SYRIAN asylum seeker has been granted refugee status after The Argus helped bring his case to the attention of the Government. Ahmad Alshami (not his real name) fled the Syrian civil war after he was imprisoned by the Assad regime for attending a political rally. He was locked in a cell with a decomposing human corpse, tortured, and still suffers from flashbacks and depression. He fled to the UK, where his brothers live, in 2015, leaving his pregnant wife in the hope that she could join him
The Argus •

Winston Churchill, Brigitte Bardot, and the mystery of the hidden £1m

WORKERS have discovered a piece of history hidden underneath a shop’s floorboards. The team unearthed bundles of decaying bank notes, the equivalent of £1 million today, buried in the 1940s under a shop which sold clothes made by one of Winston Churchill’s favourite tailors. The extraordinary find was discovered under the floorboards of Cotswold Outdoor in Western Road, Brighton. Shopfitters working at night were stunned to discover the mouldy and decaying £1 and £5 banknotes, many of which date from before the Second World War. The face value of the hoard is about £30,000,
The Argus •

Council pays £11,000 for 4 days of personal development

A MANAGEMENT consultant was paid £11,000 of taxpayers’ money for four days’ work taking “personal development” meetings with councillors, The Argus can reveal. The £340-per-hour contract was paid for by Brighton and Hove City Council to “support ongoing professional development” for elected members. GMB union branch secretary Mark Turner said: “What a waste. We’ve already got excellent staff who do this. West Hove Infant School is considering cutting as many as ten teaching assistants to save
The Argus •

Outrage as bus firm which hiked prices and cut services makes £15m profit

THERE are renewed calls to bring back night bus services after the company which provides them declared an operating profit of more than £15 million. Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company’s seven directors were paid £2 million between them in the financial year ending July 2017. Managing director Martin Harris was paid more than the Prime Minister. Parent company Go Ahead got £22 million from the business – which it says it will reinvest in buses and improvements. It comes three months aft
The Argus •

Parents' delight as schools given funds in battle for chosen school places

PARENTS were jubilant this evening after councillors agreed a plan to allow children to attend their preferred schools. Campaigners thanked The Argus for the role it played in forcing a council U-turn. Mother Clair Letton said: “I’m absolutely delighted, it’s been great. We’ve had local people and the local paper working together to resolve an issue. “And that’s what a community is about. And now politicians have agreed to make life better for our children, that’s how local government should w
The Argus •

Complaints over insolvent building firm could reach more than £1m

TRADING Standards are investigating nearly 50 complaints dating back seven years against a defunct building firm, The Argus can reveal. Officers are so concerned about the scale and similarity of the allegations - which turned from a trickle to a flood last summer - they are considering referring the case to the police for possible criminal investigation. Close to half a million pounds is in dispute so far but investigators expect that figure to double. DMB Solutions, of Borough Street, Brigh
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