“Journalism exists to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”
Andrew Norfolk, the Times investigative reporter, whose expose of sexual grooming of underage girls by men of mainly Pakistani heritage in Rotherham and Rochdale in England sparked a national inquiry, has died.
He said recently: “This story is an example of why newspapers matter. When all else failed a very brave person (a Rotherham social worker) placed their trust in journalism. Those documents I was handed revealed something shameful. Something people whose job it was to protect children had chosen to keep hidden. It was an uncomfortable story but sometimes uncomfortable truths are the ones for journalists to tell because if we don’t no one else will.” “It seemed extraordinary that the authorities knew so much and did so little.”
After the first story appeared in January 2011, he was attacked by those who felt he was unfairly targeting a minority community. But Keir Starmer, then director of public prosecutions changed the rules so that more charges were possible.
Professor Alexis Jay’s 2014 report in 2014 found that 1,400 girls had been groomed and abused in Rotherham since the late 1990s. Children had been trafficked to other cities. Some were doused with petrol and told they would be set alight if they told anyone. The grooming gangs were acting with “virtual impunity”. Norfolk won the Paul Foot award and the Orwell prize for his investigations and was named the 2014 Journalist of the Year at the British Journalism Awards.
Andrew Norfolk, born 8 January 1965, avoided the story when it was first raised by Ann Cryer, MP for Keighley, in 2003 since he assumed it would be a “dream story for the far right”. Yet his journalistic conscience overcame his reluctance in 2010 and he started digging through archive court material and local newspaper articles in libraries. He identified 17 cases in 13 places where 56 men had been convicted; 50 were Pakistani Muslims. “We found clear evidence of a crime pattern that was having the most devastating impact on some of the most vulnerable, innocent people in our society.”
He had a Capricorn Sun in an Earth Grand Trine to Jupiter in Taurus and Uranus, Pluto, Mars in Virgo with his Jupiter opposition Neptune in Scorpio, making Neptune his driving planet. He also had a Pisces Moon, perhaps conjunct Chiron, opposition his Virgo stellium – which sounds feasible; and square his North Node in Gemini opposition Mercury Venus in upbeat Sagittarius.
His Earth Grand Trine would make him practical, sensible, not given to flights of fancy. His Mutable Grand Cross could have made him highly strung with a tendency to get scattered, but it did hook him into the zeitgeist (spirit of the times) especially in its darker underbelly (Mars Pluto).
When his story was published on 5th January 2011 the transiting Chiron was conjunct Neptune and tr Pluto close to the North Node.
On his chart tr Pluto was conjunct his Solar Arc Neptune hinting at the scale of the reaction to a devastating story; with his Solar Arc Uranus, Pluto, Mars being in Scorpio.
Rotherham was incorporated as a borough on 6 September 1871, giving it a Virgo Sun and a tough Mars in Scorpio opposition Pluto in Taurus. When the abuse story emerged in print the Solar Arc Neptune was conjunct its Sun for an undermining moment; with there was also an uncertain, panicky tr Saturn opposition its Neptune; and a blocked, discouraging tr Pluto conjunct its Saturn.
Andrew Norfolk’s Uranus Pluto were conjunct Rotherham’s Sun for an explosive synastry. And his Jupiter opposition Neptune sitting on the Rotherham can-be-cruel Mars opposition Pluto would shine an idealistic light on their situation. Understandably his writing would not be welcomed with the relationship chart having a power-struggling and hostile composite Mars square Pluto which tr Saturn was triggering when the story surfaced in print.
The political fallout is still ongoing with resistance to another national inquiry, though given how little attention is paid to the conclusions of expensive, long-running inquiries, it is a moot point whether that is the answer.
Maybe Andrew Norfolk’s death will bring the horror that no one wants to know about back centre-stage for a while which may help.
The post Andrew Norfolk – he made a difference first appeared on Astroinform with Marjorie Orr – Star4cast.
