And so The Times says farewell to Simon Barnes

Today sees the last of Simon Barnes’s pieces in The Times – a subject about which readers of this blog have expressed their opinions forcefully (see here and here).

Simon writes two wildlife pieces today (and there is some sport going on in Glasgow apparently) – one about the wonders of Sea Eagles on Mull and the other about two stories with which he has been closely associated in Derbyshire (as has, in its own small way, this blog) – the Sanctuary Local Nature Reserve and the absence of raptors in the Peak District National Park.  It’s almost as though he wanted to make a point that he would write about raptors until the very end…

He mentions Hen Harrier Day, the M&S turnaround, e-petitions and why wildlife crime is a crime against us all and ‘vandalism on an industrial scale’.

I was very pleased to see that Simon will receive the Charles Rothschild and Miriam Rothschild Medal later this year from the Wildlife Trusts to recognise the way he has “tirelessly championed the natural environment and raised the profile of wildlife issues across the UK and beyond”. It will be only the third time the medal has been awarded since its inception in 2008.

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14 Replies to “And so The Times says farewell to Simon Barnes”

  1. the Times, and their ‘friends’ may well regret having Simon Barnes on the outside of the tent pee- ing in, unfettered by contracts of employment, etc. Good on the Wildlife Trusts.

  2. “why wildlife crime is a crime against us all and ‘vandalism on an industrial scale’”

    Some times when I see comments like this I feel a slight pang of guilt and think I should give up doing wildlife crime.

    But then I swiftly come back to my senses.

  3. Indeed good on the Wildlife Trusts. I’ve not read Simon recently as I have to rely on others buying the Times and discarding it as I will not contribute to the Murdoch millions but he was at least getting the important stories and ideas across to those who would probably otherwise miss them, so he will be a loss to us all for that. However I’m sure he will not be silent and we will soon be reading him elsewhere. Guest blog here Mark?

  4. My husband and I have just stopped our transcription to the Times after many years, in protest about the appalling treatment of Simon Barnes. When we phoned them, the lady we spoke to asked our reason and said that it was not the first time that she had been given it as a cancellation issue. Our complaint ,we were told,would be duly logged.

    To jettison one of the best writers and most honest men in British journalism for what are obviously political reasons shows up the Times as it is today. The Thunderer is ,sadly, dead.

  5. So, do you stand by your earlier allegation that he was being dropped due to his stance on HH. or are you backing away from that Mark?

    1. kie – it wasn’t an allegation, it was an ‘I wonder if…’ and I still wonder if that’s what happened, as, if you read what I wrote, and what Simon wrote to me at the time, so did he.

  6. The journalist who was my reason for buying the Saturday Times has just been sacked! The articles, mainly wildlife (but also sport) by Simon Barnes are the first pages I turn to, and which after reading I then forward to a friend.
    I am an 83 yr-old resident of the Peak District and a very keen birder. The persecution of raptors here is a scandal, and I hope that our champion will soon appear in print elsewhere!

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