British counter-terrorism police are assisting in the investigation into the sudden death of Daily Telegraph journalist David Knowles, who died while on holiday in Gibraltar.
Knowles, 32, who was known for his award-winning podcast Ukraine: The Latest, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday from what is believed to be a cardiac arrest.
The Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP) requested specialist support from UK Counter Terrorism Policing due to their experience with international inquiries, although authorities have stressed that no specific concerns have been raised regarding suspicious circumstances.
A post-mortem examination is being conducted to confirm the cause of death, and a coroner’s investigation is underway.
In a statement, the RGP said, “Following the RGP’s mutual aid request, detectives from UK counter-terrorism policing have been appointed to provide support… due to their existing capability and their experience of dealing with international inquiries.” The Metropolitan Police added that their officers are supporting the investigation, but “primacy for the investigation remains with the RGP.”
David Knowles had been instrumental in The Daily Telegraph‘s coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, particularly through the podcast Ukraine: The Latest. His passing has left colleagues and listeners shocked, with co-host Dominic Nicholls tearfully announcing the news during a recent episode: “Our beautiful friend David Knowles died suddenly at the weekend after a health emergency.”
Tributes have poured in, including from politicians. In Parliament, Labour MP Andy Slaughter highlighted the significance of Knowles’ work, saying, “Can I pay tribute to Telegraph journalist David Knowles, creator of the brilliant Ukraine: The Latest podcast, who tragically died last weekend at the age of only 32?”
He also called for a debate on the importance of investigative and public interest journalism. House of Commons leader Lucy Powell echoed his sentiment, saying, “He’s absolutely right – investigative journalism is so important to our democracy, and we should do whatever we can as a country to support it.”
Although there are no current security concerns surrounding the death, Knowles’ inclusion on a Russian Foreign Ministry list of sanctioned British journalists in 2023 has raised questions. The sanctions came after the Russian government accused certain journalists, including Knowles, of promoting anti-Russian stories.
The Gibraltar government has reviewed the situation and decided there was no need to raise the current terror threat level, which remains “moderate.” The investigation continues, with support from both UK and Gibraltar authorities to determine the circumstances of Knowles’ death.
I did wonder when it was announced it does seem very young for a heart attack unless there was an abnormality.
There was a whole spate of Russian dissidents having heart attacks in and around London that made little sense and nobody cold get Plod interested.
Yep! Since 2022 there have been 26 deaths of dissidents, podcasters, journalists and two YouTube creators who support Ukraine in their channels. You can multiply that number by six of the creators who claim to have been warned to stop their anti-Russia videos “or else”.
That’s not counting Putin’s men running around Europe setting fire to factories, storage facilities and factories that belong to manufacturers that makes sense components used by Ukraine for a host of things. The UK has had over a dozen such fires.
I agree the fires really should be properly briefed out to the press.
Also people being incited to break in and trash factories making very sensitive parts for submarines etc that others might want to get a look at? It is probably not accidental that they are fed the misinformation – it seems awfully convenient.
If people realised there would be a bit more electoral pressure to up the defence budget.
@George do you think you can cover this? It seems right up UKDJ’s street?
It is being looked at, especially the invasion of certain manufacturing facilities where they are being funded and directed by who-knows-who.
But it needs to be reported on.
If people knew that Putin’s ‘Little Green Men’ were active in the UK – support for rapid defence spending would rise.
Just as there is strong support for defence spending in the Nordics. They can see what is going on and are proximate.
Exactly, it is very puzzling to me that the government does not want the public to know this.
It is known but journalists don’t seem to want to cover it…which I find odd. I get that all the security services stick to their usual line of ‘don’t start a panic’ except where they are forced to – which was why the threat traffic light system came in. The security services don’t want it talked about mostly because they are embarrassed that they cannot prevent it. That is the problem with rent-a-sleeping-bloke-for-security and depending on passive measures like fences and CCTV. A few decades ago most places I visited had dog patrols and security teams…not so much now. In… Read more »
Good Afternoon SB
I suspect recent events after Stockport have also worried the Gov even more about releasing details. Police would probably be happy with more eyes and ears feeding info in but they don’t want groups out grabbing every Eastern European because “they sound Russian”.
This predates Stockport.
And it is usually subcontracted by GRU /FSB to local criminal gangs for a suitcase of dollars or euros.
There’s been a grey war going on in Europe since April 2022. Save, for the bulletins issued by the Home Office. The old back channels don’t work as well these days, not after 2013 anyway.
Agreed. I was furious that, after the Salisbury poisoning, the US’ and EU’s levels of sanctions against Russia were heavier than our own- the wronged party. Our reluctance to face these things down head-on makes me suspicious about what levels of compromise are being made to keep options open in terms of Russian money and London to be frank.
Russian money, from Putin loyalists, has largely left London now. Chelsea FC forced sale was a clear marker. A lot of property changed hands at a discount or is empty. It is one of the reasons that the London equity markets are so dry – amongst many others like Rachel Reeves – they were pumped full of Russian money. They liked lots of small high risk investments. Nobody was interested in messing with start-up finance. The problem we had re Salisbury was signalling intent without damaging ourselves in the process. Ultimately it was a waste of time as come UKR… Read more »
Russia has now been heavily sanctioned by the UK. Bank accounts have been frozen, prominent individuals targeted for legal action and assets seized. The UK has also been at the forefront of assisting Ukraine being the first to give modern western tanks, long range missiles and at the start pf the recent invasion providing large numbers of NLAW and Javelin ATM. Also since the annexation of Crimea the UK has been training Ukraine’s troops. All the above are hardly the actions of a compromised bought country. While it is true London was a playground for rich Russians with the attempted… Read more »
The Security Services like the police work within the law. They need evidence to take action and time to investigate. They cannot stop what they do not know about. So it is up to potential targets to ensure their security is adequate. In this case the death of a journalist who was a prominent critic of Russia, struck down at such a young age it is right to carry out a full investigation. Russia sees assassination as just another everyday tool and has a history of killing people it does not like. If it is found that Russia killed him… Read more »