Channel 4 News has announced the appointment of Paul Morgan-Bentley as Head of Forensic Journalism. Paul will oversee the team’s investigative journalism.
Channel 4 News has announced the appointment of Paul Morgan-Bentley as Head of Forensic Journalism. He joins from The Times, where he currently serves as Head of Investigations.
Paul will oversee the team’s investigative journalism, building on award-winning reporting including The Case Against the Archbishop (2024) and Reform Party Undercover (2024), ongoing investigations into online harms (2024/5), as well as recognisable reporting on working conditions at Dyson factories in Malaysia (2022), and the multi-award winning Cambridge Analytica exposé (2018).
The expanded Forensic Journalism brief will see him lead a team of broadcast and digital journalists to deliver distinct, original content across the newsroom’s multi-platform output. This includes oversight of the FactCheck unit and data teams in Leeds and London, accelerating the development of Open Source Investigations (OSINT) work, and working alongside award-winning Investigations Editor Cathy Newman, widely praised for her reporting on the Church of England.
Paul has a significant track record of agenda-setting investigations, including his work with Channel 4 Dispatches on Russell Brand: In Plain Sight, which examined allegations about the comedian and actor’s treatment of women, and his 2023 undercover reporting exposing how British Gas was breaking into vulnerable customers’ homes to force-fit prepayment meters.
The appointment follows a highly competitive process that attracted applications from across the industry.
Esme Wren, Editor of Channel 4 News, said: “Paul is one of the UK’s leading investigative journalists and we’re delighted to welcome him to Channel 4 News. He has a standout record of agenda-setting reporting and a clear commitment to holding power to account and exposing wrongdoing. He joins us at a time when public service investigative journalism matters more than ever, and I know he will play a central role in strengthening our investigations for years to come.”
Paul is a two-time winner of the UK’s prestigious Cudlipp Award for investigative journalism, most recently in 2024 for an undercover investigation at one of the UK’s most dangerous prisons and previously in 2015 as part of a team exposing abuses in charity fundraising. In recent years he also won the Future of Media awards for digital storytelling and online video journalism.
Paul Morgan-Bentley said: “I am thrilled to be joining Channel 4 News and for the opportunity to lead its exceptional teams of investigative journalists. I have been a huge fan of Channel 4’s distinctive agenda-setting journalism for many years and of the way it engages and inspires young and new audiences. This is a special opportunity at a time when high quality trusted news is more important than ever and I’m excited for the challenge.”
Paul joins Channel 4 News in April and will be based in the national newsroom in London.