Investigative journalist given honorary doctorate

The founder of an investigative journalism group which claimed to have identified the suspects in the Salisbury poisonings has been honoured by the University of Leicester.

Eliot Higgins was awarded an honorary doctorate during a graduation ceremony held at De Montfort Hall, in Leicester, on Thursday.

He launched the website Bellingcat in 2014 to provide a place to learn how to do open-source investigation work, but it "quickly became known internationally" due to its work on the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014.

Mr Higgins, who is originally from Shropshire but now lives in Leicester, said: "It's a great honour to receive this honorary award and I hope it acts as a reminder that innovation can come from anywhere, especially in the age of the internet."

Open-source journalism uses publicly available data, such as social media posts, satellite imagery and mobile phone recordings to investigate and report on news stories.

Mr Higgins started blogging from his living room in Leicester about open-source images being shared online from the conflict in Syria in 2014.

He launched Bellingcat, which he said investigates a "range of topics", shortly after.

Mr Higgins said the group's work on MH17 was its "first big" investigation, but it is best-known for its apparent unmasking of men accused of carrying out the Sailsbury poisonings in March 2018.

He said he used "information available online" as part of his investigation.

Bellingcat and Mr Higgins have both won a host of awards.

Prof Nishan Canagarajah, president and vice-chancellor at the university, said Mr Higgins's work was a "lesson for all journalists".

He said: "His passion for human rights, coupled with his expertise in using publicly available data, has led to Bellingcat becoming leaders in the field of open-source investigations, allowing them to play an instrumental role in delivering justice."

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