Charlie Parker
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charliehparker.bsky.social
Charlie Parker
@charliehparker.bsky.social
News Reporter at The Times 🖋️

Covering everything from crime, defence and politics to protests, disinfo and foreign interference

Stories 📰 https://www.thetimes.com/profile/charlie-parker?page=1

Tips 👉 charlie.parker@the-times.co.uk
This commander of a Multiple Launch Rocket System said no wildlife was harmed in NATO’s Arctic artillery exercise this week

Other army chiefs told me “accidents still happen” despite vigorous checks, as they sometimes find dead reindeer next to bomb craters
November 21, 2024 at 10:54 AM
Interesting take from a Times reader…
November 20, 2024 at 2:15 PM
As for assault rifles, Finnish commander Olli Taskinen told Nato troops to keep their firearms “frozen all the time”

“If you take this inside, all the snow and ice melts and gets in the gun, then you go outside again and it freezes completely. Leave it outside your tent.”
November 20, 2024 at 2:15 PM
The demos are designed to test troops in harsh winter terrains after Finlands accession to NATO doubled the alliance’s border with Russia
November 18, 2024 at 7:11 PM
We were also shown similar “deep strikes” from Finnish forces using K9 self-propelled guns

(One of the blasts made me drop my phone…)
November 18, 2024 at 7:11 PM
Keen to connect, chat about story ideas and continue scribbling for The Times, so do get in touch!

My DMs are open or you can email any tips to charlie.parker@the-times.co.uk
November 14, 2024 at 2:05 PM
And lastly, how Tony Hudgell, 9, who lost both his legs after suffering horrific abuse at the hands of his birth parents, turned his torture into triumph by raising £2 million for charity and becoming the youngest honours recipient on record
www.thetimes.com/uk/article/m...
‘I want to climb Everest’: How Tony Hudgell turned his torture into a desire to ‘help others’
Nine-year-old Tony Hudgell has become the youngest honours recipient on record after raising £2 million for charity
www.thetimes.com
November 14, 2024 at 2:05 PM
Another highlight was hearing historian Tom Holland describe how Aethelflaed, the "forgotten founding mother of England” and daughter of Alfred the Great, fought off Viking hordes and helped to build Britain in the Dark Ages

www.thetimes.com/uk/history/a...
Tom Holland: We must celebrate England’s forgotten founding mother
As Celebration Day approaches, the historian makes the case for Aethelflaed, the daughter of Alfred the Great whom, he argues, it is an ‘injustice’ to overlook
www.thetimes.com
November 14, 2024 at 2:05 PM
One of my favourite deep dives was into the problems plaguing Britain's largest warship, HMS Prince of Wales
www.thetimes.com/article/why-...
Why HMS Prince of Wales won’t return to service for months
HMS Prince of Wales can launch the most advanced fighter jets ever built, carry submarine-hunting helicopters and destroy incoming missiles with radar-controlle
www.thetimes.com
November 14, 2024 at 2:05 PM
At Glastonbury, @willhumphries.bsky.social and I discovered gatecrashers digging Great Escape-style tunnels and using grappling hooks to break into the festival

www.thetimes.com/article/glas...
Glastonbury gatecrashers dig deep to gain illegal entry
Glastonbury gatecrashers have been digging Great Escape-style tunnels and using grappling hooks to scale the perimeter wall to enter the festival without paying
www.thetimes.com
November 14, 2024 at 2:05 PM
This investigation into the Islamic Centre of England, a charity run by Iran's supreme leader, found speakers calling for “academic jihad” in schools, the eradication of western “empires” and preaching death as a “compassionate” sentence for gay people
www.thetimes.com/article/acad...
Academic jihad and anti-West rhetoric of UK Islamic hub speakers
Speakers at a British charity run by a representative of Iran’s supreme leader have called for “academic jihad” in schools, the eradication of western “empires”
www.thetimes.com
November 14, 2024 at 2:05 PM
After the October 7 attack: How Twitter/X and other social media sites hosted an "unprecedented" information war of fake news

www.thetimes.com/business-mon...

And our exposé of the leaders behind the now proscribed Hizb ut-Tahrir group hijacking London protests
www.thetimes.com/article/who-...
Israel-Gaza war: social media hosts war of fake news and AI images
While rockets rip through the sky and fighters clash on the ground, a deluge of disinformation is fuelling an “unprecedented” information war between Israeli an
www.thetimes.com
November 14, 2024 at 2:05 PM
@larisabrown.bsky.social and I later confirmed that a British-made Starstreak missile shot down a Russian helicopter in the weapon’s first recorded use on the Ukrainian battlefield

www.thetimes.com/article/uk-m...
November 14, 2024 at 2:05 PM
A fortnight after Russia's invasion, I spoke to an elite Ukrainian drone unit about how they destroyed dozens of “priority targets” by attacking Kremlin forces as they sleep

www.thetimes.com/article/spec...
Specialist Ukrainian drone unit picks off invading Russian forces as they sleep
An elite Ukrainian drone unit has destroyed dozens of “priority targets” by attacking Russian forces as they sleep, The Times can reveal.Aerorozvidka, a specialist air reconnaissance unit within the a...
www.thetimes.com
November 14, 2024 at 2:05 PM
At the Euros this summer: Meet the East German football fans rooting for England
www.thetimes.com/uk/society/a...

And the British pub owner who rebuilt his boozer brick-by-brick near Dortmund
www.thetimes.com/uk/society/a...
Meet the east German football fans rooting for England
Before reunification they saw West Germany as the enemy and admired the English style of play — although they’re disappointed with their Euro 2024 performances
www.thetimes.com
November 14, 2024 at 2:05 PM
Outside Brixton prison, violent criminals gave interviews as they were freed under the government's early release scheme

Inmates, including one jailed for "punching people in the head", told me they were "certainly not" rehabilitated and would likely reoffend

www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/art...
‘I’ll be back’ — prisoners celebrate early release, but some doubt they’re rehabilitated
Reaction as 1,650 inmates walk free in a single day
www.thetimes.com
November 14, 2024 at 2:05 PM