Big Read

Dan McCrum interview: ‘If I’d just walked away from this story, my reputation and career were toast’

Financial Times journalist Dan McCrum endured threats and persecution as he battled to bring an explosive story to public attention – but by the time he was finished, one of the biggest companies in Germany lay in ruins

Dan McCrum, journalist at the Financial Times: ‘It’s a very strange thing to find yourself in the middle of a story – but what a story!’ Picture: Andrea Artz

By the time Dan McCrum had placed a hammer under his pillow at night to ward off potential intruders, the rational and irrational parts of his brain held equally powerful sway over his thoughts.

It was 2019, and McCrum had been in journalism long enough to know that such steps towards self-preservation weren’t typically required for reporters, at least not for London-based hacks for the Financial Times. But the story he was reporting on – ...