Paul Williams photographer

Paul Williams is a photographer/reporter with the Cornish based St Austell Voice newspaper. He acquired national prominence in 2006 when a story that he researched about a local councillor Joan Vincent MBE purchasing two properties in the adjoining clay country for £15,000, that subsequently sold less than a year later for £175,000 hit the national media.

The article ran across Europe and was covered by all of the UK daily newspapers as well as ITV, BBC and Sky TV news channels. The story prompted major political inquiries by Restormel Borough Council, the Liberal Democrat party as well as an internal inquiry by clay conglomerate Imerys.

In September 2008 he captured a photograph of Chief Superintendent Colin Terry of the Devon & Cornwall police at a fete in Grampound, a small village on the outskirts of St Austell. Mr Terry was seen dressed as terrorist Osama Bin Laden,a controversial choice of costume as Mr Terry was on secondment to the UK Foreign Office in Afghanistan advising on counter terrorist protocol. He was also the sole official representative of the Devon & Cornwall constabulary to attend a remembrance service at Ground Zero in New York in 2006 to honour policemen and security officers that perished in the 9-11 attack on the World Trade Centre on September 11 2001.

The St Austell Voice article came out on September 10 2008, the eve of the seventh anniversary of the 9-11 tragedy.The article featured photographs by Williams, as well as quotes obtained by Terry confirming his identity.

Within hours the story and photograph created a media storm both in Europe and the USA, featuring in over 300 newspapers and carried by all the worlds top TV news channels including BBC, Sky, Itv, CNN in Europe and ABC, NBC in the USA. Chief Superintendent Terry was subsequently sacked by the Home Office in Afghanistan and returned to the Devon & Cornwall police where he currently faces an internal inquiry.