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Colin's short bio

Since 2005 Colin has delivered short training courses for journalists and policy researchers in Advanced Online Research and Investigative Desk Research. Since 1999 he as worked as a freelance feature writer and research consultant for a range of clients on dozens of in-depth and investigative assignments.

In 2005 he attended the VVOJ conference on Investigative Journalism in Amsterdam as a freelance journalist.

Before going freelance in 1998 Colin worked as a Principal Researcher at Which? managing a small team of report writers for the magazine. Before that appointment he worked at Which? as a senior researcher working on several high profile reports including investigations into British Telecom and British Rail. He was appointed to Which? in 1994.

In 1993 he was promoted to Chief Feature Writer for BMA News. The news magazine for Doctors in the UK. From 1990 to 1993 he worked as a sub-editor and Feature Writer for BMA News.

In 1991 he gained his Periodical Training Council Certificate in Journalism after achieving his Post-Graduate Diploma in Journalism at the University Wales College in Cardiff.

In 2003 Colin was awarded a Special Commendation by the Medical Journalists' Association in recognition of 'an oustanding contribution to journalism.'

colin has worked as a full-time or freelance journalist and medical writer for 18 years. Here is a selection of his recent work.




Privacy: In March 2008 Which? published his 4-page core report on privacy issues covering surveillance, RFID technology and internet security. In the report (download here) he revealed that Transport for London have received more than 3,000 requests from the police for passenger journey data.







Mobile Phone Tracking: In 2007 his story on mobile phone geographical tracking for Which? revealed a loophole in regulations that allowed people to secretly track friends or family members.

Food labelling: In Summer 2007 Which? published his report into the dispute over food labelling in the UK.





Physician Assisted Suicide:
In 2006 Colin was commissioned by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain to examine the potential impact of physician assisted suicide on pharmacy. The results of this project were published by the Pharmaceutical Journal in two articles in November 2006: (You may need an account with PJ to access these articles)
Pharmacy involvement where assisted suicide and euthanasia are permitted and Pharmacy and assisted suicide: what can be learnt from experience abroad?




Journalism.co.uk: Colin currently acts as Consulting Editor to Journalism.co.uk - the UK’s leading online resource for journalists. Colin was founding editor of the online news channel on journalism.co.uk. Colin has contributed to journalism.co.uk for several years and some his reports and features include:
Online news bridges Cypriot divide
Dungeons and Dragons
Milestones in online journalism
Over the past three years he has also worked on the site’s popular ‘how to’ pages:
How to: search for information within social networking sites
How to: find contacts and information about people online.
How to: use search engines for precision surfing
How to: protect your privacy online and why



Walk Magazine: In 2006 Colin was commissioned as Walk magazine's health page writer. His latest piece on First Aid was published in the Autumn 2008 edition.










In September 2005 he wrote an analysis of strategies used to control MRSA infections in the UK for Which? MRSA Download (PDF), and in June 2006 Which? published his report into the Airline Food industry and the row within that industry about safety standards.



BMJ Knowledge: Throughout 2006 Colin wrote several new British Medical Journal Best Treatments topics including those on neonatal infection, cellulitis and hepatitis C. BMJ's Best Treatments series are reliable guides to medical conditions published in the US and the UK and based on the best clinical evidence. Colin has worked as a medical writer for BMJ Knowledge since 2002 and has written several full topics including those on excema, post traumatic stress disorder, allergic rhinitis, Lyme disease, Raynaud's syndrome and conjunctivitis. Colin has also edited and updated many other topics including ADHD, bulimia, epilepsy, skin cancer, slipped disc, heart attack and lung cancer. See Best Treatments for more.

Trans Fats: In 2004 Colin was commissioned by Which? magazine to investigate the use of hyrdrogenated fat - a common processed food ingredient considered far more harmful than saturated fat. Colin's findings were included in the magazine's 'State of our food' analysis published in September that year. The section on trans fat was based on a ground-breaking laboratory analysis of the trans fat content of more than 20 popular foods. One KFC meal was found to contain 4.4 grams of trans fat. Colin's report makes up the first few pages of this seven page analysis: Report (PDF).

This investigation was a follow up to his four page investigation into the food industry's use of hydrogenated fat as a cheap ingredient published in Health Which? a year earlier. Both these reports provoked widespread debate about the impact of trans fat on health.


Laser eye surgery...
For Which: In February 2005 Which? published his report on the poor advice being offered by some laser eye surgery clinics.

For the Times: In 2004 Colin spent four months investigating allegations that an eye surgery laser made by one of the industry's most respected companies wasn't safe. The report carried evidence from patients, industry insiders, more than 20 senior doctors and companies taking legal action against the maker. It also included evidence from data leaked from the company itself. Colin's report was published by The Times as a front page lead and a news feature in August that year.



For Health Which?: In 2002, at the height of publicity surrounding the benefits of laser eye surgery, Colin was commissioned by Which? to examine the claims made by the companies about safety. This investigation, published in 2003, provoked intense media coverage and widespread debate and led directly to changes in the industry. The report found that many clinics were not being clear about the risks of complications. The report received a special commendation from the Medical Journalists’ Association.



Antidepressants and Psychiatry: Colin was one of the first journalists to critically examine the claims made by pharmaceutical companies about the efficacy of SSRI antidepressants and two of his feature reports on this issue were published by Health Which? in 2002 and 2004. He has also recently written about antidepressants for the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ): SSRI ads questioned




Other work for the Canadian Medical Association Journal: Colin has worked as a reporter on Europe for CMAJ since 2004 on a string of reports including:
Red tape threatens noncommercial research in Europe.
UK MDs oppose selling statins without prescription.
BMJ's legendary leader moves on.
Isolate patients, screen staff to fight MRSA.


Emergency Care: In April 2004 Health Which? published the last in a series of articles by Colin on the poor performance of most of UK’s ambulance services. This investigation, spanning three years in four separate feature reports, found evidence of deliberate manipulation of performance statistics. The reports sparked widespread debate and led directly to improved regulatory monitoring. Evidence from the reports was submitted to, and debated by, the Public Administration Select Committee Inquiry into Public Service Targets and League Tables. The main 2003 cover feature report can be downloaded here: Report (PDF).



Scams: In an investigation for Which? in June 2005 he tracked down and named the people and the companies behind a series of scam competitions organised in the UK.






Drug Side Effects: In 203 Colin wrote a series of articles for Health Which? on drug side effects and the marketing tactics used by big pharma. One of those articles was an investigation into the side effects caused by drugs for epilepsy. That feature report can be downloaded here: Report (PDF).



Other Reports: Since 2000 Colin has also worked on many other reports including feature reports and investigations including feature reports on speed cameras, stroke care, league tables, head trauma and the explosion in diabetes. He has also written for the Independent on Sunday including a section lead on mountaineering and a feature on hill-running.

Colin Meek