1983
Revealed on Granada Reports and ITN’s News at Ten that Peter Wilson had spent 35 years inside a secure mental hospital (Moss Side in McLoughlin’s home town of Maghull) after breaking a window on a beach hut in Devon as a teenager. Wilson was released and featured in an exclusive interview.

1984
Exclusive on the ‘Gorky Park’ attempt to reconstruct face of a body found in a cellar in Bury, Greater Manchester.
Conducted a ‘surprise’ interview with PM Margaret Thatcher, only to be ‘assaulted’ by an angry Bernard Ingham who pushed him in the chest during the interview. Mrs Thatcher grabbed Rob’s arm, steadied him, finished the question and walked away. A Police Officer nearby said he saw ‘nothing’.

1985
Revealed that the plane involved in the Manchester Air Crash (55 died on board) had shown ‘technical issues’ in previous flights which Boeing had warned about.

1986
Was barred on camera from interviewing Greater Manchester Police Chief James Anderton about the controversial Stalker Affair which saw Anderton’s Deputy removed from a ‘shoot to kill’ inquiry in Northern Ireland. McLoughlin and a Granada TV crew were asked to leave an event they had been invited to.
Conducted first interview with John Stalker’s wife, Stella Stalker – screened (12 minutes) on Granada Reports and in part on News at Ten before making headlines across UK Irish and other press.
First full-length interview with John Stalker in August ’86 before a committee decided his fate as Deputy Chief Constable. Clip appeared on ITN’s News at 5.45 (ITV) then in full 10-minute form on Granada Reports, in full on ITN’s Channel 4 News and across the press. It was also made available to the BBC.

1988
Series of special reports for Granada on asbestos which forced 2 major companies to clear up blue asbestos from hills in Derbyshire and near a school in West Yorkshire.

1989
Commissioned confidential poll for Granada which showed ‘dissatisfaction’ among North West Tory MPs over Mrs Thatcher’s leadership. First evidence of a likely fall from power. Independent newspaper followed with a national survey which showed similar results. She left office in 1990.

1988/89
Joined ‘World in Action’ (ITV):
Wiped £2.5bn from share price of a major UK company after an 8-month investigation and World in Action special on alleged corruption on the Aldermaston Nuclear War head plant at Aldermaston; made a moving special for WIA on IRA punishment shootings in Belfast.
Revealed that a UK airline was flying an ‘insurance write-off’ in UK and Europe in a WIA produced by Charles Tremayne and made the season’s highest ratings with an expose on enforced prostitution in Holland ‘The Sex Slaves of Europe’ produced by Debbie Christie was seen by 7.4m viewers.
He also assisted on a special live programme on the Hillsborough Disaster and a WIA on Deputy Doctors and a John Ware film on the Manchester plane crash.

1990/91
Gained access to home of a Lancashire Councillor as Police sensationally raided the property and Preston Town Hall in a corruption inquiry which largely petered out. McLoughlin had screened a film on the Councillor weeks before in which he listed a series of allegations of corruption and fraud which had been rumoured about him.

1990
Produced ‘A Pawn In The Game’ for Granada’s Open Eye series which showed Police knew that a businessman accused of criminality was innocent seven months before they removed John Stalker as Deputy Chief Constable for associating with the man, Kevin Taylor. Film included first lengthy interview with RUC Chief Constable Sir John Hermon about his role in the ‘shoot to kill’ inquiry.

1994-2016
Exclusive interviews with a series of major political figures for Granada’s political and election output and for BBC and commercial radio including David Cameron (PM); Micheal Heseltine (DPM) Jonh Prescott (DPM) John Major (PM) George Osborne (Chancellor) Ken Clarke (Chancellor), opposition leaders from Ed Miliband, Charles Kennedy, Michael Howard as well as regular radio chats with Philip Hammond (Chancellor) and Vince Cable (Business Secretary). Programmes he oversaw also included interviews with Tony Blair, Gordon brown and others.

2009/10
Persuaded Merseyside Police and Paris force to re-open investigation into death of a young man in a French Squat in 2000 after a ‘suspect’ told McLoughlin on camera that it was a ‘murder’. Led to House of Commons inquiry.

2013
Broke a 9/11 exclusive in UK press and on NBC in New York.

2015
Won ‘Scoop of The Year’ for a ‘Party People’ exclusive on ITV/Granada which revealed that Militant leader of the 1980s Derek Hatton had rejoined Labour, 29 years after his suspension by Neil Kinnock. Story ran on ITN, BBC News and even the rival political show on BBC1.

2016
He delivered a speech on press freedom and investigative journalism at special conference on the future of China in Beijing. This was followed by a lecture to journalism students on the reasons why ‘exposes’ are important in democracies. https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/news/north-west-broadcaster-warns-chinese-conference-press-freedom-being/

2019
Revealed via Sky News and then channels and press across UK that the new House of Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes days before his election. He also revealed that former PM, Theresa May, had given the Speaker advice and support.