COUNTER terrorism detectives from the UK are assisting the Royal Gibraltar Police to investigate the sudden death of 32-year-old Telegraph journalist David Knowles in Gibraltar.
Knowles died of what was reported to be a ‘suspected cardiac arrest’ on Sunday 8th September whilst holidaying in the British Overseas Territory.
A team of UK Counter Terrorism Policing detectives have been appointed ‘to provide support to the Royal Gibraltar Police investigation, due to their existing capability and their experience of dealing with international enquiries.’
Knowles worked as a senior audio journalist and presenter for the Telegraph, where he rose to prominence after launching a podcast that shed light on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Entitled Ukraine: The Latest, it won the Best News Podcast at the Publisher Podcast Awards and has been downloaded almost 100 million times.
According to Spotify, on the show a team of Telegraph journalists ‘considers military strategy, history, economics, the refugee crisis, Ukrainian culture, and daily life in Vladimir Putin’s autocratic Russia and Volodymyr Zelensky’s democratic Ukraine.’
In a statement, the Royal Gibraltar Police said it is ‘currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the sudden death of 32 year British National David Knowles on Sunday 8th September, whilst holidaying in Gibraltar.’
“His Majesty’s Coroner in Gibraltar has been informed and a Coroner’s investigation is underway.
“Arrangements have been made for a post-mortem examination to be conducted today.
“A policing ‘mutual aid’ request for specialist support was submitted to UK policing, although there are no specific concerns at this time with regard to the death.”
Tributes poured in for the highly-respected journalist after his death was announced on the weekend.
David’s father, Peter, said his son ‘loved life and lived it just as well as he could’.
He added: “David’s commitment to journalism was intense. He was never more proud than when he finally shrugged off a management job title and regained a title with the word journalist in it, and he was utterly engaged with the story of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the impact on its people, making four trips to the country and always planning the next”.
Chris Evans, the editor of The Telegraph, said: “David was a talented and popular journalist who was perhaps best known for helping to make our Ukraine podcast such a success. Before that, he was an impressive leader of our social media team.
“We would like to offer our sympathy to his family and friends”.
David studied at Durham University, where he gained a first-class degree in theology, before receiving a master’s degree in interactive journalism from City, University of London.
Following a stint with MailOnline, he joined the Telegraph as deputy head of social media.
He quickly rose the ranks, and in June 2024 was promoted to the role of senior audio journalist and presenter.
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