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Nick McCarthy

Nick McCarthy

New phone hacking revelations 'devastating' for Coulson, says MP Tom Watson

A West Midlands MP who has been a leading campaigner in the phone hacking scandal has described a new round of revelations as “devastating” for former editor of News of the World Andy Coulson.Read

Prime Minister David Cameron appeals for calm during visit to Birmingham

Prime Minister David Cameron appealed for the city’s different ethnic communities to stay calm during a visit to Birmingham.Read

NEC taxi deal sees customers charged £1.60 before they depart

A new exclusive use taxi deal at the NEC will hit every customer with a £1.60 premium before they even leave, it has emerged.Read

NEC taxi deal sees customers charged £1.60 before they depart

A new exclusive use taxi deal at the NEC will hit every customer with a £1.60 premium before they even leave, it has emerged.Read

Fears over child care as Birmingham nursery cutbacks begin

Nursery staff who care for some of the most vulnerable children in Birmingham are being made redundant as part of a cost-cutting exercise by the city council.Read

Birmingham recruitment firm founders arrested in fraud probe

Two Birmingham businesswomen who met the Queen and two Prime Ministers during their rise to the top have been arrested as part of a fraud probe.Read

Birmingham City Council hires private firm to issue litter fines

Birmingham City Council is drafting in a private firm to issue fines on people who drop litter, with the private company funding itself from the fixed penalty notices it issues.Read

Birmingham athletics club facing cash crisis as council hikes up fees

An athletics club has spoken out over a decision by Birmingham City Council to more than triple the fee it charges the club for the annual use of its running track.Read

US millionaire who killed two Warwickshire men buys his way out of jail

An American playboy who killed two Warwickshire businessmen while racing his Porsche along a Florida beachfront has avoided prison after cutting an extraordinary deal with his victim’s families.Read

University of Birmingham spends £280,000 on refurbishing vice chancellor's home

The University of Birmingham has spent more than £282,000 refurbishing the vice chancellor’s rent-free house.Read

Snooker club bought by city council to solve Birmingham school places crisis

Birmingham’s severe school places crisis has forced the city council into the compulsory purchase of a city snooker club.Read

West Midlands Guantanamo detainees accused of al-Qaeda links in US documents

Secret US documents released by the WikiLeaks website show how four West Midlands men were accused of having links with al-Qaeda during their detention at Guantanamo Bay. Read

Birmingham City Council defends £1million spent on consultants

Birmingham’s housing department has spent more than £1 million hiring just three consultants to managed “short term projects” which ended up lasting six years.Read

Erdington hospice to be run by its own staff as social enterprise

A Birmingham hospice is to be taken over by its own staff in a bid to sweep away red tape and improve patient care.Read

Councillors tried to stop Lord Adonis giving speech to Lunar Society

Deputy city council leader Paul Tilsley is at the centre of a bitter censorship row after he attempted to prevent a former Government minister from delivering a highly critical speech blasting Birmingham as a city with weak leadership facing a bleak future. Read

The 47 Birmingham City Council bosses earning a combined £4.6m

The annual wage bill for 47 directors and assistant directors at cash-strapped Birmingham City Council has been revealed as £4.6 million.Read

Revealed: Why Sutton Coldfield may never be royal again

Sutton Coldfield has proudly used its Royal name since 1528 – without knowing that it legally lost the privilege because of a paperwork error in 1887.Read

Redditch council backs plans to use crematorium to heat pool

A Worcestershire council is pushing forward with controversial plans to heat a swimming pool with recycled energy from a nearby crematorium – making a saving of nearly £500,000.Read

Council pushes through plans to use crematorium to heat pool

A Worcestershire council is pushing forward with controversial plans to heat a swimming pool with recycled energy from a nearby crematorium – making a saving of nearly £500,000.Read

Parents apply to open college for special needs students in Sutton Coldfield

Two sets of parents from Birmingham have applied to build their own college to help meet a city-wide shortage of places for teenagers and young adults with learning difficulties and disabilities.Read

Author Profile

Nick McCarthy was born and raised in Birmingham and he joined the Birmingham Mail in 2007. He joined the weekly Sutton Coldfield News in 2004 and qualified as a senior journalist in 2006. Before working as a journalist he completed an undergraduate degree in sport and a masters degree in sociology.