Chris Atkins (journalist)

Chris Atkins
Mugshot of Atkins distributed after he was jailed for theft of public money and fraud
Born	Christopher Walsh Atkins 1976
Nationality	British
Education	Bromsgrove School
Occupation	Documentary film maker
Organization
Notable work	Taking Liberties Starsuckers

Chris Atkins (born Christopher Walsh Atkins in 1976) is a British film maker who was jailed for multi-million pound fraud and theft of public money. He has made videos online and several feature-length fiction films, documentaries and television programs. His work has caused controversy, and he has faced legal action as a result of his films. He gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry into the ethics of the British press, which was not accepted by some parties as accurate, according to Judge Martin Beddoe.

Atkins was educated at Bromsgrove School from 1986–1994. His first film, Randall's Flat (2001), had an estimated budget of £1,800,000. His early career involved making low-budget dramas with director Richard Jobson, including Jobson's debut feature film, 16 Years of Alcohol, which was nominated for five British Independent Film Awards in 2003, winning two. He also produced The Purifiers with Jobson, a martial arts film set in the future, which was acquired by Working Title and released in the United States by Newline Cinema. in 2005 he produced Jobson's A Woman In Winter, starring Jamie Sivves, Julie Gayet and Brian Cox. It was nominated for two Scottish BAFTAs, including best film.

In 2007 he directed his first feature documentary Taking Liberties (2007) which strongly criticised the Blair government for undermining civil liberties since the war on terror. Made for £500,000, it prominently featured the story Atkins' film finance friend, the fraudster David Bermingham, and argued that Bermingham had been denied his civil liberties because he had been extradited to stand trial. While making Taking Liberties, Atkins was held under anti-terror laws when he tried to speak with the Home Secretary John Reid at the 2006 Labour Party conference. The film was released in over fifty British cinemas shortly before Blair stepped down in 2007, to very strong reviews. The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw gave the film 4 stars, saying "there's something exhilarating about this thoroughly enjoyable and worthwhile docu-blast against Tony Blair's insidious diminution of native British liberties." The film was BAFTA nominated for the "Carl Foreman award for special achievement by a British director, writer or producer in their first feature film" in the 2008 British Academy Film Awards.