Winners of this year’s London Press Club Awards were announced on Wednesday at a lunchtime awards ceremony packed with 150 of some of Britain’s top journalists from national newspapers and broadcasters.
Awards ranged from Journalist of the Year for the Standard’s court correspondent Tristan Kirk to Newspaper of the Year for The Sun, while The Times won Sunday newspaper of the Year.
Chair of the judges Nick Ferrari, who presented the awards alongside Press Club chairman Doug Wills and BBC London's Riz Lateef, said: “Given the seismic events both at home and abroad over the past 12 months, it was fair to hope for a good crop of entries for the awards - but it turned out to be exceptional. We had a record number of [them]."
The Press Club Awards lunch was held at Stationers’ Hall near St Paul’s where speakers commemorated journalists across the globe who have reported on major stories amid conflicts and war. Reverend Canon Dr. Alison Joyce held a "moment of silence” to thank them for the things "we take for granted”.
It followed the Edgar Wallace Award given posthumously to the late Independent reporter Kim Sangupta, who covered most of the main battlefronts over a career that spanned decades.
A further ten awards were then presented for a host of categories including Political Journalist of the Year for Tim Shipman, of the Sunday Times and The Times – his columns are "an essential read for those who want to know what is going on behind the scenes in politics", said the judges. He was presented with £1,500 by Lord Salisbury who sponsored the award.
Tristan Kirk’s award came after his investigation into a secretive court process dubbed “conveyor belt justice” and his work that shone a light on the single justice procedure system. It has seen vulnerable people dealt with by the courts without proper scrutiny.
He said: “I hope this award helps to further shine a light on that and convince people to change the system for the better.”
Other recipients included BBC’s Mishal Husain who won Broadcaster of the Year and the Daily Telegraph’s Oliver Brown, who received the award for Sport Journalist of the Year.
Multi-media journalist of the Year went to Aggie Chambre from LBC for political exclusives, as Young Journalist of the Year - presented with a prize of £1,000 donated by The Journalists’ Charity - went to Eirian Prosser from MailOnline.
The Londoner of the Year Award, which is given annually by the Press Club, was announced as England and Arsenal football star Bukayo Saka.
Accepting the Best Newspaper award, Sun Editor Victoria Newton said:
"I just want to echo really what Scarlet Howes said earlier, Rupert Murdoch always instils in me that the most important thing to do as Sun Editor is to give a voice to the voiceless.
"I think that’s what we tried to do with the Huw Edwards story against massive opposition.
"Freedom of speech is something that I hope we all continue to fight for in this room and most importantly I want to say an incredible thank you to my brilliant brilliant Sun team, I couldn’t have done any of it without them, they are magnificent.”
The 2023-24 Award Shortlists and Winners are as follows:
BUSINESS JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Shortlist:
- Jim Armitage, The Sunday Times Business Editor, leads one of the top teams in business journalism with many scoops and in-depth coverage.
- Ed Conway, Economics and Data editor Sky News, for his investigations that exposed sanctions loopholes employed by some UK and international companies to bolster Putin’s war chest.
- Szu Ping Chan, The Telegraph City Page, with a scoop that Chancellor Rachel Reeves was preparing to reveal the multi-billion pound ‘black hole’ left by the Tories.
- Lucca de Paoli, Bloomberg, often uses court filings and documents in Companies House to get under the complex financial web of companies in distress.
Winner: Ed Conway, Economics and Data editor Sky News, his investigative series was “extraordinary and powerful”, said the judges
Highly Commended: Szu Ping Chan, of The Telegraph, for her outstanding coverage on the inner workings of the Treasury.
JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Shortlist:
- Jacob Dirnhuber, MailOnline; a life-long disability prevents him working as an on the road reporter but using only his ingenuity and the internet he was able to track down three international fugitives from justice.
- Scarlet Howes, The Sun, who doggedly pursued the Huw Edwards story, gathered evidence that helped convict oil protesters and revealed allegations about behaviour towards Strictly Come Dancing contestants.
- Tristan Kirk, Evening Standard Court Correspondent, highlighted the single justice conveyor belt. Children parents and businesses had their convictions overturned as a result of his work and 75,000 prosecutions brought by rail companies are set to be quashed.
- Richard Pendlebury, Daily Mail, with a distinguished track record as a foreign correspondent who this year produced harrowing reports from Gaza and the frontline in Ukraine.
Winner: Tristan Kirk the Evening Standard Court Correspondent for his campaign that saw vulnerable people tried without any public scrutiny and some prosecuted unlawfully. Thousands had their convictions overturned as a result of his work. A journalist who made a difference.
Highly Commended: Scarlet Howes of The Sun for her exclusives and revelations.
BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR
Shortlist:
- Mishal Husain, for her election coverage on the BBC’s Today programme and moderating the head-to-head Prime Ministerial TV debate and the seven party debate.
- Secunder Kermani, Foreign Affairs Correspondent of Channel Four News with on the ground reporting on every aspect of the Israel-Gaza conflict.
- Stuart Ramsay, Sky News Chief Corespondent, for international coverage with exclusive reports from Haiti on the takeover of the capital by violent gangs.
- Nick Wallis, freelance journalist, who provided first comprehensive broadcast coverage of the Post Office Horizon Scandal while at BBC Radio Surrey and continued to provide analysis on various outlets.
Winner: Mishal Husain, her work and role at the heart of the BBC’s election coverage was outstanding, said the judges.
Highly Commended: Nick Wallis for his superb broadcasting journalism on the Post Office Scandal
POLITICAL JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR – The Lord Salisbury Award with prize of £1,500
Shortlist:
- Jack Elsom, Chief Political Correspondent, The Sun
- Beth Rigby, Political Editor, Sky News
- Tim Shipman, Chief Political Commentator of the Sunday Times and The Times
- Chris Mason, Political Editor, BBC News
Winner: Tim Shipman, of the Sunday Times and The Times – his columns are an essential read for those who want to know what is going on behind the scenes in politics, said the judges.
Highly Commended: Beth Rigby, Political Editor, Sky News for always asking the difficult questions
SCOOP OF THE YEAR
Shortlist:
- Mail Online for its detective work tracking down Tommy Robinson to a hotel in Cyprus from where he was allegedly using social media to whip-up far-right riots. Mail staff were threatened and intimidated following publication
- The Times for the story of the MP who allegedly used £14,000 of party donor's money to pay his personal bills.
- The Sun, for its 18-month investigation into the BBC's highest profile presenter Huw Edwards.
- The Times, Sunday Times and Channel Four for revelations from women accusing Russell Brand of rape, assault and emotional abuse - allegations he strongly denied.
The winner is: The Sun for its investigation into Huw Edwards. The judges said it was a good old fashioned scoop that dominated print, online and broadcast news. It took painstaking sensitive treatment and considerable courage.
Highly Commended: The Times, Sunday Times and Channel Four for Russel Brand revelations which the judges said required sensitivity and courage.
SPORT JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Shortlist:
- Oliver Brown, the chief sports writer of the Daily Telegraph, for writing on complex wider issues of our society with a willingness to address them, however controversial.
- David Ornstein, football correspondent of The Athletic, showing an ability to break and analyse stories.
- Jonathan Wilson’s writing in the Guardian and Observer on football demonstrating an ability to evaluate changes transforming the national game.
- Miriam Walker-Khan, diversity and inclusion reporter at Sky Sports News, for remarkable coverage beyond sound bites with real analysis
Winner: Oliver Brown, Daily Telegraph, for his incisive writing on complex issues.
Highly Commended: David Ornstein, The Athletic, brings exceptional knowledge of football to his exclusives and analytical coverage in a very competitive field.
MULTI-MEDIA JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Shortlist:
- Aggie Chambre, LBC: This versatile journalist has been rapidly building a reputation for breaking political stories, including about sexual misconduct and bullying.
- Yousra Elbagir, Sky News: The Africa correspondent of Sky News has proven to be an intrepid and digitally-savvy journalist.
- Dominic Nicholls, Telegraph: The long-time defence expert has become a key voice and contributor to the Telegraph's Ukraine Latest daily podcast which has amassed close to 100m listens since the start of the war.
- Matt Wilkinson, The Sun: The royal editor of Britain's biggest red-top has demonstrated his multi-media skills by launching a new studio show, The Royal Exclusive.
Winner: Aggie Chambre, LBC, for her political exclusives most notably the Westminster "honey trap" scandal.
Highly Commended: Yousra Elbagir, Sky News for her brave reporting on the ground from Sudan, Kenya and Senegal
YOUNG JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR - with prize of £1,000 donated by The Journalists’ Charity
Shortlist:
- Joe Bromley, Evening Standard Junior Fashion Editor has brought a fresh, original voice to writing about the fashion industry. His interviews investigations and first person comment pieces have given voices to the downtrodden, and exposed injustices.
- Sophie Huskisson, Political Correspondent The Daily Mirror has produced agenda-setting stories and content across print and digital since becoming one of the youngest lobby journalists over a year ago. Her innovative show Party Games provides an insight into the reason why MPS still choose to go into politics
- Eirian Prosser, reporter MailOnline As the youngest on-the-road reporter for MailOnline her empathetic and sensitive approach has seen her handpicked above her more experienced colleagues to take the lead on the biggest world exclusives and international breaking news stories of the year.
- Katie Tarrant, reporter Sunday Times has spent the last year doggedly securing accountability for vulnerable people who have been exploited by the rich and powerful. In particular her report on the allegations of sex trafficking involving multi-millionaire philanthropist Hamish Ogston is a materpiece of a meticulous researched story.
Winner: Eirian Prosser, reporter MailOnline. The judges said she has an utterly fearless attitude and dogged determination and is the very definition of a rising star.
ALL THE ENTRIES WERE HIGHLY COMMENDED
HUGH CUDLIPP AWARD FOR CAMPAIGNING AND INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
Bill Hagerty, chair of the Award judges, said: “It may have been a tough year for many papers but the ability to get to the heart of important and difficult issues is as strong as ever.”
Shortlist:
- Cash for care (Daily Mail) An important investigation into an abuse of the care system in which rogue fixers charge unqualified migrants large sums for visas for care jobs, exploiting Home Office loopholes.
- Court Correspondent Tristan Kirk (Evening Standard) Powerful work shining a light on the notorious Single Justice Procedure system under which millions were prosecuted and criminalised with no public scrutiny at all.
- Children’s dental health crisis (Daily Mirror) A shocking expose of the state of our children’s teeth, where premature decay is rife across the nation.
- ‘Show Respect’ campaign (Evening Standard) Detailed reportage exploring the misogynistic attitudes of teenage boys, which, it is claimed, are contributing to an epidemic of violence against women.
- Chief constable’s fake war record (The Sun) Powerful public interest journalism holding a major public official to account, leading to his downfall.
- Inside Bedford Prison (The Times). Courageous public interest journalism in which investigative reporter Paul Morgan-Bentley gets a job in one of Britain’s most violent jails, exposing poor conditions and lax security.
And the Winner is: Inside Bedford Prison (The Times). And the judges said it was “First-class reporting on a highly topical subject.”
Highly commended: The Evening Standard’s Court Correspondent Tristan Kirk The judges said: “Kirk’s scrutiny put the issue on to the national agenda, pressuring ministers into change”
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR 2023-24
The judges saw digital transition of formerly exclusively print mastheads to multi media as particularly important in the past year.
Shortlist:
- The Evening Standard the judges noted had played a critical role in shaping London’s narrative, with a special focus on urban life, culture, campaigns and politics. Its reviews and features on the arts, restaurants, and entertainment are particularly influential. Its campaigns have not only raised awareness but have also influenced policy, making The Evening Standard a powerful voice. Its Show Respect campaign in particular was seen as outstanding.
- The Mail mastheads, including The Daily Mail and MailOnline, remained powerful voices in the UK media landscape. In 2024, its combined coverage of national and international news, alongside celebrity gossip and human-interest stories, made it one of the most-read news sites globally. Its campaigns on issues such as NHS reform, crime, and immigration have helped shape public policy debates.
- The Sun delivered major exclusive stories during the year, particularly in entertainment, sports and politics. Its investigation into the BBC's highest profile presenter Huw Edwards dominated the headlines in print, digital and broadcasting. It continues to reverberate in the industry. The Sun excels in reader engagement with its mobile-friendly format and use of social media.
- The Times The Times this year continued to show its strength in investigative reporting, with in-depth analyses of political scandals, economic issues, and social injustices. It’s coverage of government policy failures and international affairs has been especially notable. The judges commended The Times as standing out for its investigative excellence, balanced commentary, and continuing digital innovation.
Winner: The Sun. The judges said: The Sun’s talent for breaking stories has ensured its place at the forefront of British media. The Sun excels in connecting with a mass audience through its accessible content, exclusives, and public campaigns and its use of multi media.
Highly Commended: The Times. The judges said: The Thunderer has seamlessly adapted to the digital age while retaining its reputation for serious, in-depth journalism
SUNDAY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR 2023-34
Shortlist:
- The FT Weekend Edition continues to set itself apart with a unique blend of financial expertise and lifestyle content, making it a highly respected publication in its own right. The panel commended its ability to engage both the financially literate audience and those seeking broader cultural insights.
- The Observer was recognised for its consistency and thoughtful approach to journalism. Its strength in political analysis, social commentary, and cultural criticism earned it a place on this year’s shortlist.
- The Sunday Times excelled in its ability to balance hard-hitting news stories with insightful commentary. The judges were particularly impressed by the newspaper's focus on digital innovation, allowing its stories to reach new audiences and increase its relevance across young to old demographics in our rapidly evolving media landscape.
Winner: The Sunday Times
The judges said The Sunday Times consistently delivered across all criteria, demonstrating excellence in investigative reporting, in-depth analysis, and quality editorial features.
