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John Downing - [email protected]

John Downing is a senior journalist at the Cambridge Independent and joined the paper in 2017. He stared his career in journalism in 2001 and previously worked as a reporter and sub-editor.

Internet Watch Foundation seeks Head of Hotline in fight against online child sexual abuse material

14 June 2025
Internet Watch Foundation seeks Head of Hotline in fight against online child sexual abuse material

Internet Watch Foundation seeks Head of Hotline in fight against online child sexual abuse material

14 June 2025

The new role is ‘pivotal’ in the charity’s mission to tackle child sexual abuse material online among growing threats such as AI-generated images.


angli-EAR Hearing’s Kirstie volunteers to offer vital ear health education in rural India

09 June 2025
angli-EAR Hearing’s Kirstie volunteers to offer vital ear health education in rural India

angli-EAR Hearing’s Kirstie volunteers to offer vital ear health education in rural India

09 June 2025

Kirstie Eley gave talks on ear infections and helped raise awareness about how untreated issues can impact everyday life.


Fitzbillies hosts party to launch Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust’s 30th birthday celebrations

05 June 2025
Fitzbillies hosts party to launch Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust’s 30th birthday celebrations

Fitzbillies hosts party to launch Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust’s 30th birthday celebrations

05 June 2025

The official charity for Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie has invested more than £150million in the hospitals over the past 30 years.


Silver lining for Cambridge exhibitors at RHS Chelsea Flower Show

01 June 2025
Silver lining for Cambridge exhibitors at RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Silver lining for Cambridge exhibitors at RHS Chelsea Flower Show

01 June 2025

Cambridge University and Polysolar were in the GreenSTEM section which highlights innovation where horticulture, science and sustainability meet.


Divine intervention as Magpas air ambulance aids former vicar after fall on tennis court

25 May 2025
Divine intervention as Magpas air ambulance aids former vicar after fall on tennis court

Divine intervention as Magpas air ambulance aids former vicar after fall on tennis court

25 May 2025

Stewart Taylor thanks all who helped him when a fall at Cambridge Lawn Tennis Club left him in excruciating pain with a dislocated replacement hip.


Greater Anglia on track to be nationalised on 12 October

14 May 2025
Greater Anglia on track to be nationalised on 12 October

Greater Anglia on track to be nationalised on 12 October

14 May 2025

Operator says train services, timetables and station facilities are unaffected by the transition, with no changes to ticket validities.


Building Stronger Futures appeal launched to raise £900,000 for new Centre 33 support hub

07 May 2025
Building Stronger Futures appeal launched to raise £900,000 for new Centre 33 support hub

Building Stronger Futures appeal launched to raise £900,000 for new Centre 33 support hub

07 May 2025

Charity Centre 33 supports young people up to 25 and is raising funds to refurbish a building in Cambridge that will become its new hub.


‘I want to make the definitive hover train film,’ says filmmaker about prototype tested in Cambridgeshire

04 May 2025
‘I want to make the definitive hover train film,’ says filmmaker about prototype tested in Cambridgeshire

‘I want to make the definitive hover train film,’ says filmmaker about prototype tested in Cambridgeshire

04 May 2025

The remarkable but largely forgotten hover train tested in the Fens has inspired Drew Silver to try to capture a piece of history in a feature film.


Archaeological dig starts ahead of redevelopment at The Grafton centre

22 April 2025
Archaeological dig starts ahead of redevelopment at The Grafton centre

Archaeological dig starts ahead of redevelopment at The Grafton centre

22 April 2025

Archaeologists are digging into the history of the Kite area before works to transform part of centre into a science hub.


‘We were issued with multiple Mill Road bridge fines despite having a Blue Badge exemption’

13 April 2025
‘We were issued with multiple Mill Road bridge fines despite having a Blue Badge exemption’

‘We were issued with multiple Mill Road bridge fines despite having a Blue Badge exemption’

13 April 2025

A motorist with severe arthritis received penalty charge notices every few days in the post from the county council.


Explore the Curious Cures from medieval medicine in Cambridge University Library exhibition

13 April 2025
Explore the Curious Cures from medieval medicine in Cambridge University Library exhibition

Explore the Curious Cures from medieval medicine in Cambridge University Library exhibition

13 April 2025

Weasel testicles, stargazing and royal remedies feature in an exhibition on our ancestors’ quest to cure everything from infertility to constipation.


Rare Alan Turing wartime papers saved for the nation for nearly £400,000 will join collection at King’s College, Cambridge

09 April 2025
Rare Alan Turing wartime papers saved for the nation for nearly £400,000 will join collection at King’s College, Cambridge

Rare Alan Turing wartime papers saved for the nation for nearly £400,000 will join collection at King’s College, Cambridge

09 April 2025

An export bar was placed on the documents relating to the Delilah project to prevent them being taken abroad.


It’s about time… chapel clock hand taken in 1930s student prank is returned to Gonville & Caius College

06 April 2025
It’s about time… chapel clock hand taken in 1930s student prank is returned to Gonville & Caius College

It’s about time… chapel clock hand taken in 1930s student prank is returned to Gonville & Caius College

06 April 2025

Two undergraduates took the clock hands in a 1930s prank and the daughter of one has returned the hour hand.


Smartphone bans alone do not equip children for healthy use of technology, say Cambridge and international academics

05 April 2025
Smartphone bans alone do not equip children for healthy use of technology, say Cambridge and international academics

Smartphone bans alone do not equip children for healthy use of technology, say Cambridge and international academics

05 April 2025

International experts call for a rights-based approach to technology use where children are better protected from harm by age-appropriate design.


Cheffins celebrates its 200-year anniversary by pledging £200,000 for charity

01 April 2025
Cheffins celebrates its 200-year anniversary by pledging £200,000 for charity

Cheffins celebrates its 200-year anniversary by pledging £200,000 for charity

01 April 2025

The funding will provide a playroom for the Cambridge Children’s Hospital as well as supporting other local charities.


Tributes paid to late ‘gifted teacher and committed tutor’ and Trinity Hall fellow Dr Isabelle McNeill

11 March 2025
Tributes paid to late ‘gifted teacher and committed tutor’ and Trinity Hall fellow Dr Isabelle McNeill

Tributes paid to late ‘gifted teacher and committed tutor’ and Trinity Hall fellow Dr Isabelle McNeill

11 March 2025

Dr Isabelle McNeill, who has died from cancer, was associate professor in French and Film and a key figure in Cambridge Film & Screen.


Ground-breaking ceremony marks start of project to deliver 84 new homes at Cambridge’s Fanshawe Road

06 March 2025
Ground-breaking ceremony marks start of project to deliver 84 new homes at Cambridge’s Fanshawe Road

Ground-breaking ceremony marks start of project to deliver 84 new homes at Cambridge’s Fanshawe Road

06 March 2025

The development will include 45 council homes and 39 market sale homes and replaces 30 properties built in the 1950s.


University of Cambridge scientists develop ‘smart pyjamas’ to monitor sleep conditions at home

20 February 2025
University of Cambridge scientists develop ‘smart pyjamas’ to monitor sleep conditions at home

University of Cambridge scientists develop ‘smart pyjamas’ to monitor sleep conditions at home

20 February 2025

Researchers said the garment has an ‘ultrasensitive sensor array directly printed on the collar, capable of identifying multiple sleep patterns’.


St Philip Howard Church £3million redevelopment will almost double seating capacity and add a community hall

20 February 2025
St Philip Howard Church £3million redevelopment will almost double seating capacity and add a community hall

St Philip Howard Church £3million redevelopment will almost double seating capacity and add a community hall

20 February 2025

The Roman Catholic church is expanding as the city population soars and 12,000 new homes are planned nearby which will be served by the parish.


Investigators release new image in bid to identify woman killed on A1 while walking barefoot 50 years ago

19 February 2025
Investigators release new image in bid to identify woman killed on A1 while walking barefoot 50 years ago

Investigators release new image in bid to identify woman killed on A1 while walking barefoot 50 years ago

19 February 2025

The mystery of the woman’s identity could be a step closer to being solved after the release of a picture of what she may have looked like.


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