Gilberto Torres survived Colombia’s death squads. Now he wants justice
By Mary Carson, Adrian Gatton, Rodrigo Vázquez and Maggie O’Kane
The Guardian
22 May 2015
He is one of only two Colombian union activists to be abducted by paramilitaries and live. Now BP and other oil firms face allegations they were complicit in human rights abuses.
Read the full story in The Guardian here.
Colombian takes BP to court in UK over alleged complicity in kidnap and torture
By Mary Carson, Adrian Gatton, Rodrigo Vázquez and Maggie O’Kane
The Guardian
22 May 2015
BP says it will defend unprecedented claim by trade union leader Gilberto Torres in case that spotlights role of big carbon in one of Colombia’s darkest periods
A Colombian trade union leader is beginning an unprecedented claim for damages against BP in the high court in London, alleging the oil company’s complicity in his kidnap and torture 13 years ago.
Read the rest of this story on The Guardian site here.
The Oil Companies and the Assassins
The Guardian
22 May 2015
Colombian trade unionist Gilberto Torres claims oil firms BP and Ocensa funded paramilitaries who abducted and planned to murder him. Watch the extraordinary testimony of his captors, who say they got $40,000 extra for the kidnap and murder of the union man
Channel 4
April 1, 2015
Last week an Airbus 320 heading from Barcelona to Dusseldorf crashed in the Alps with the loss of 150 lives, and after initial concerns over mechanical failure or an act of terrorism, it was eventually revealed to be an act of mass murder committed by the co-pilot. In this documentary, Matt Frei investigates the story of Andreas Lubitz and asks whether air travel is still the safest form of transport, examining the airline industry’s safety record and incidents involving pilot error or emotional breakdown.
Edit Producers: Roger Corke, Adrian Gatton
Archive Producer: Adam Ambery-Smith
Editors: Kai Lawrence, John Moratiel, Paddy Payne
Location Directors: Tom Marchbanks, Alison Ramsay
Producer & Director: Mark Gregory
Exec Producer: Ian Russell
Farage Fans & UKIP Lovers
Channel 5
March 4, 2015
“very, very funny” – Mikey Smith, The Mirror
From fishermen who believe that their livelihoods are being destroyed by EU legislation to those who blame immigration for the UK’s ills, UKIP supporters come in all shades of purple. Father and son Terry and Luke rail against EU quotas and argue that the no fishing zones being established in the English Channel are the result of conservation rules gone “out of control”. DW, a self-proclaimed “rightwing anarchist” seems keen to deregulate everything. While dominatrix Jill, from Poole, would like to be Minister for Bondage in any future UKIP government.
Producers: Adrian Gatton, Mark Olden, Matthew Chapman
Directors: Edmund Davis, Kosta Papanicolas
Series Producer: Bob Jefford
Exec Producer: Jacqui Wilson
This is the film that led to Nick Ferrari’s interview with Nigel Farage in which he replied to dominatrix Jill: “I am not the Messiah, I’m a very naughty boy!” Watch the clip here.
British hostage held by al-Qaeda in Algeria was shot by troops in failed rescue bid
By Robert Mendick, Adrian Gatton and Mark Olden
The Sunday Telegraph
14 September 2014
An inquest into the In Amenas siege at a gas plant in Algeria will raise serious doubts over the safety of staff at the facility, part run by BP.
At least one British hostage was killed by the Algerian military as it fought with al-Qaeda terrorists who had taken control of a gas plant in the Sahara desert, an inquest will hear this week.
The inquest into the massacre at the In Amenas facility, which begins on Monday, will raise serious questions over Algeria’s handling of the hostage crisis. Seven British residents were killed during a four-day siege along with more than 30 other foreign hostages.
The men were taken hostage when jihadists, led by the al-Qaeda linked terrorist Mokhtar Belmokhtar stormed the facility in January 2013. The incident was deeply embarrassing to the Algerian government because the plant was in a militariesd zone that should have been protected by the army.
The inquest will also raise serious questions about security inside the camp which was run in a joint venture by BP, the Norwegian state oil company Statoil and the Algerian government owned Sonatrach.
Read the rest of this story on The Sunday Telegraph site here.
The McCanns and the Conman
Channel 5
June 4, 2014
Based on unprecedented access, this one-hour film tells the story of security consultant Kevin Halligen and Operation Omega, the secret investigation to find missing child Madeleine McCann in 2008.
Producer/Director: Adrian Gatton
Associate Producer: Mark Olden
Editor: Mark Senior
Executive Producer: Jacqui Wilson
Today I was contacted by officers from “Operation Pinetree”, the latest phase of the Scotland Yard investigation looking into alleged phone-hacking by reporters at the News of the World (and following on from Operation Weeting).
I was told that my details had appeared in key documents related to the investigation and so, as a potential victim of phone hacking, I was given a unique reference number for future correspondence/disclosure (which is N10126).
There is a current phone-hacking trial underway, and future cases pending, so for legal reasons I won’t add more at this stage. But if you know anything about possible attempts to “hack” my voicemail, please get in touch using the contact form below.
Sexting Teacher
Channel 4
February 18, 2014
Sexting Teacher carefully tells the stories of three teacher-pupil relationships in the age of social media and smartphones, including a dramatic reconstruction of the case of guitar-playing maths teacher Jeremy Forrest, who ran away to France with a 15-year-old pupil. He is currently serving a prison sentence.
All three cases in this Cutting Edge documentary led to the conviction of the teacher and had a tumultuous effect on the lives of those involved.
The stories highlight how technology is enabling a worrying trend of relationships between teachers and their underage pupils and gives a new level of insight into the dangers for the girls involved.
Watch on 4oD.
Producer/Director: Adrian Gatton
Editor: David Freeman
Executive Producers: Edmund Coulthard
Exclusive: Death in the desert – did a security man see it coming?
By Adrian Gatton and Mark Olden
The Independent
12 September 2013
The man in charge of expat security at the Algerian gas facility seized by Islamic militants in January raised serious concerns about safety at the plant three days before he was killed in the attack, The Independent can reveal.
Paul Morgan, a 46-year-old security expert from Liverpool, was the first of six Britons killed when al-Qa’ida-linked terrorists stormed the In Amenas gas facility, 30 miles from the Libyan border, on 16 January, taking dozens of foreign workers hostage.
Speaking exclusively to The Independent, Mr Morgan’s partner Emma Steele, 37, said that he had grown increasingly frustrated in the months before the attack, which eventually left 40 workers dead. “He said he couldn’t do his job properly. His hands were totally tied,” she said.
Three days before he was killed, Mr Morgan, who worked as security liaison at the facility, also told work colleagues that he could “no longer guarantee their safety” …
Read the full-story here.
Adrian Gatton 