Ian Weinfass

Freelance journalist

United Kingdom

Multi award-winning journalist specialising in built environment, policing, health & safety and business matters.

“Weinfass makes great use of contacts and obviously has a good nose for news. He uncovers stories which otherwise would never get told,” - judges of the British Journalism Awards for Specialist Media (2018, public sector and charities).

"[He] stood out for the subjects [he] tackled, the flair with which [his] articles were written, and the huge amount of legwork involved in piecing the stories together. The writing was clear to follow and the writer brought a human face to important issues. They liked the fact that [he] told the stories from the grass roots up," - judges of the IBP Feature Journalist of the Year 2023.

"[An] imaginative and determined approach to research and information gathering," - judges of the IBP Construction/Infrastructure Writer of the Year 2020 award.

Available for commissions. Contact: zh13sjsxc[ at ]mozmail.com

Portfolio
Construction News
03/23/2023
Didcot 7 years on: no answers, no lessons, no justice

As the investigation into the deaths of four men at a decommissioned power station enters its eighth year, Ian Weinfass speaks to some of those still affected by the tragedy and asks why the industry has received no guidance since

Private Eye
03/31/2023
Race to the Bottom

Among its many shocking findings, last week's damning Baroness Casey Review highlighted that at current rates of recruitment the ethnic make-up of the Metropolitan Police will take 40 years to become representative of London's (current) population. Meanwhile, at the present rate of recruitment there will never be another ethnic minority chief constable anywhere in the UK.

Construction News
04/10/2025
A handful of dust

Stonemason Stuart Johnson would come home from work “absolutely covered in dust”, his wife Carol recalls. “It was just part and parcel of the job.” Stuart was unaware that the dust he was inhaling – silica – could lead to silicosis, a dangerous lung disease. In 2019, he became one of an estimated 500 UK construction workers to die of silicosis each year.

Construction News
04/22/2024
Asbestos: the forgotten safety crisis

Asbestos was banned 25 years ago, yet thousands are still dying as a result of its presence. Ian Weinfass examines the long legacy of the former go-to building material and whether enough is being done about the dangers it poses today

Construction News
05/29/2020
Cladding battles

The risks are unlikely to be highlighted by reception staff or online-booking websites, but disputes over hotel building defects have been raging for years. Following the Grenfell Tower fire, which laid bare the dangers of combustible cladding, two well-known hotel chains have made legal claims against high-profile contractors worth millions of pounds.

Police Oracle
Inconsistencies in police misconduct outcomes revealed

Should receiving a criminal conviction always result in dismissal from the police service? Should a data protection breach? A six-month analysis of police misconduct hearings by Police Oracle has found several apparent inconsistencies within the system across England and Wales.

Police Oracle
Policing legitimacy at risk due to lack of diversity says Met Commissioner

The legitimacy of the police service is at risk unless the government makes a "game changing" intervention to increase the number of ethnic minority police officers, the Met Police Commissioner believes. Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe's stark statement came in his response to the College of Policing's leadership review.