In 1968 he worked for the Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph, then in 1971 joined the Western Mail in Cardiff and in 1973 the Times Higher Education Supplement.
His exposé led to the bankruptcy of Ian Greer Associates, one of the country’s biggest lobbying companies, and the resignations of two junior ministers, Neil Hamilton and Tim Smith.
[5][6] In 1998, Hencke won "Scoop of the Year" for a story that caused the first resignation of Peter Mandelson, over a secret undeclared £373,000 home loan given to him by fellow Treasury minister, Geoffrey Robinson.
[9] Hencke manages his blog Westminster Confidential on which he publishes "news, views, investigations and much more",[10] and regularly contributes to Byline Times.
[12] In August 2019, Staffordshire Police confirmed that they were investigating whether Hemming's accuser, Esther Baker, had misled detectives.