Led all trade and national newspapers in the late 1980s on the campaign to change the Sunday trading laws. Often cited as “the leading authority in Europe” on the issue
Uncovered a fruit and veg relabelling scam during the apartheid era whereby produce was relabelled as produce of Bophuthatswana to get around sanctions – 1988
Broke the story that a consortium called Isosceles was going to mount a bid for the Gateway supermarket group and that four of the Gateway board were backing the consortium. There were rumours I had bugged the boardroom. I had not, of course – I just had excellent sources
The arrival of Aldi in the UK
Covered a gun siege at a chemist’s as a rookie trainee in 1984. I was the only one who discovered the name of the woman held hostage while the siege was in progress – appeared on front page of The Evening Standard
Food tampering scares – the Financial Times called on my expertise in this area to write for the newspaper
In the late 1980s and early 1990s I got a series of exclusives about Tesco because of good sources I had cultivated
Led the press on the arrival of Costco in the UK
Led the coverage of the salmonella-in-eggs scare (“Currie Gate”) and BSE – The Sunday Times frequently contacted me for information
Led coverage of the formaldehyde/chemical hair-straightening controversy in the hairdressing press and provided research on the subject for the national press.
