John Sweeney is a writer and reporter, old school. He remained in the Ukrainian capital throughout the Battle of Kyiv and his latest book, Killer In The Kremlin, reveals Vladimir Putin to be the monster he is. Sweeney's philosophy is: ‘I poke crocodiles, if crocodiles they be, in the eye with a stick.’
He’s helped free seven people falsely accused of killing babies, starting with Sally Clark, reported on wars, revolutions and trouble around the world, gone undercover to Zimbabwe, Chechnya, twice, and North Korea. He upset Donald Trump by asking him about his links with the mob - Trump walked out on him - and upset Vladimir Putin by asking him about Russia's role in the shooting down of MH17. But he is probably best known for shouting at the Church of Scientology.
After 17 years at the BBC for Panorama and Newsnight, he is now a free spirit, up for the right kind of trouble. He has written twelve books, including the best-selling novel set in the war in Burma, Elephant Moon and a co-authored investigation into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Murder On The Malta Express, which in December 2020 won a national book award in Malta.
His latest thriller is The Useful Idiot, about fake news in Stalin's Moscow in 1933.
His latest adventure is into the world of podcasts. Hunting Ghislaine, produced by LBC and Chalk & Blade, hit number one on the Apple UK podcast chart and has been downloaded nearly five million times. Taking On Putin, produced in Kyiv while the Russian Army was only fifteen miles away, has been critically acclaimed.
He tweets from @johnsweeneyroar to his 240,000 followers and loves a limoncello.
John has written 16 books. Four novels and twelve non-fiction books.
Fiction
The Useful Idiot, a thriller set in Stalin's Moscow about fake news in 1933.
Elephant Moon, a novel set in Burma in the second world war
Cold, a thriller set in modern Russia
Road, a thriller set in Syria
Non-Fiction
The Life And Evil Times of Nicolae Ceausescu, 1991
Trading With The Enemy: Britain’s Arming of Iraq, 1993
Purple Homicide: Fear and Loathing on Knutsford Heath, 1998
Rooney's Gold, 2010
Big Daddy – Lukashenka, The Tyrant of Belarus, 2012
Church Of Fear: Inside the Weird World of Scientology, 2013
North Korea Undercover: Inside the World's Most Secret State, 2013
Murder On The Malta Express: Who Killed Daphne Caruana Galizia, 2019 (co-author with Carlo Bonini and Manuel Delia)
