Megan Agnew
The Sunday Times
The “Rolex Rippers” was a gripping, meticulously researched story, told with character and colour. This was the tale of how two young women targeted older men outside the golf clubs and Waitrose of Middle England. They would proffer a clipboard, flirt, bring them in close and leave. Once the women were long into the distance, the men, baffled, felt their wrist a little lighter - and soon realised they had been dipped for their Rolex. They stole over half a million pounds worth of watches, a story of modern-day Robin Hoods to some, or organised, considered criminals to others, who capitalised on well-studied weaknesses of their targets, as well as the perceived stereotypes of their gender. It was the most-read story in the Magazine and was optioned for a TV drama and documentary. In July 2021, five-year-old Logan Mwangi was killed by his mother, step-father and teenage step-brother after years of physical and psychological abuse, which happened, seemingly, right in front of social workers. Megan wrote the most detailed investigation yet into how two innocent boys were so badly failed by the people who were supposed to protect them - one ended up in prison for life, the other one dead. She traced their families back generations, uncovered the events leading up to the murder, minute by minute, and got to the core of the people responsible. This was a complicated story of overlapping families, family court orders, a dysfunctional social care system, violence, manipulation and a horrific crime, told clearly and powerfully. In the last decade, women have been turning to Facebook groups to find sperm donors. This is an unregulated realm, where there is no body policing the practice, making it ripe for exploitation. Megan investigated the UK’s “super donors” - the men who claim to have hundreds of children to hundreds of women - in a way that had been missed by other national papers and broadcasters. Clive Jones had appeared on TV and been interviewed by newspapers - but Megan uncovered his connection with a far right Neo-Nazi group which believed in “total aryanism”. She also discovered widespread misinformation within these groups, amounting to coercion, and instances of rape and sexual assault. This was important journalism, protecting women who existed outside regulation, who had been forced into the Wild West of fertility treatment. After joining the Sunday Times four years ago, Megan has also worked as a commissioning editor on the Magazine, as well as writing across the paper as a columnist, feature writer and profile interviewer, sitting down with pop stars, rockstars, authors and politicians.