Former Times football correspondent Tony Barrett, who resigned from the paper following its failure to cover the Hillsborough stadium disaster inquest verdict on its front page, has joined new digital site Joe.co.uk.
Barrett, who is from Merseyside and previously worked for the Liverpool Echo, was widely praised on social media for his response to the Times’s decision not to put the result of the inquest in to the deaths of 96 supporters on its cover in April.
When the first-edition front page of the Times was revealed on social media the evening before hitting newsstands, Barrett tweeted “unbelievable”, a post that was retweeted almost 2,500 times and “liked” by nearly 3,000 users. The following day he tweeted an apology to “everyone who’s been let down”.
To everyone who's been let down I'm so sorry.
— Tony Barrett (@TonyBarretTimes) April 27, 2016
The Sun, which has been widely boycotted in Liverpool for decades after accusing fans of causing the disaster with its infamous “The Truth” splash, also failed to run the story on its front page.
Times editor John Witherow later admitted the newspaper had made an error. However, it is understood Barrett felt he could not continue working for the title.
Barrett is expected to write more analysis and focus on transfer exclusives as chief football writer for Joe, which only recently launched in the UK as an offshoot of a successful digital outlet in Ireland.
The company has hired numerous former BuzzFeed employees to drive its expansion, including its former Europe commercial boss Will Hayward as UK chief executive and former football chief Richard Beech, who is has taken over as editor of the UK operation.
Other recent hires include Louise Emmerson, also from BuzzFeed, as VP of brand partnerships, and the former commercial boss for Lad Bible, James Wigley, as director.
Beech said: “There’s not an editor in the UK who wouldn’t be delighted to have Tony on board, so the fact he’s joined Joe is a huge testament to what we’re building. His name is synonymous with football in the north-west, he’s broken the biggest stories, worked tirelessly on his patch, and subsequently he’s seen as the authority on football in England’s proudest football region.”
