London Press Club Awards: i, Sunday Times and Andrew Neil scoop top prizes at prestigious awards

Evening Standard Staff14 October 2020

The UK’s newest national newspaper the i today won the London Press Club accolade of Daily Newspaper of the Year. The Sunday Newspaper of the Year went to The Sunday Times.

In a virtual awards event with TV journalist Kate Silverton announcing the winners, Andrew Neil was named Broadcaster of the Year. The London Press Club Awards judges said he “conducted such a good interview with Boris Johnson during the Tory leadership contest that the man who became our Prime Minister didn’t fancy coming back for more during the General Election campaign”.

Andrew Neil thanked the judges referring to Boris Johnson saying that he realised “this is as much for the interview I didn’t do as the ones I did do”. He said it could be said to be “the award for the interview that never happened”.

Anthony Loyd of The Times was named Print Journalist of the Year for his “stunning exclusive” with ISIL British bride Shamima Begum in the Al-Hawl camp in Northern Syria.

Anthony Lloyd said he was honoured to be named Print Journalist of the Year and it showed “there is never a better alternative for a foreign correspondent in getting scoops or breaking stories than being on the ground… something that Zoom or virtual meetings can never replace.”

Other awards went to:

Peter Smith and Owen Walker of the Financial Times won Business Journalists of the Year for their in-depth investigations into Neil Woodford Investment Management. Shortlisted were Jim Armitage, City Editor of the Evening Standard and Ruth Sunderland City Editor of the Daily Mail.

Scoop of the Year went to the Daily Telegraph for its Sir Philip Green Exposé.

Digital Journalist of the Year was won by Matt Chorley for his Red Box with The Times.

The Edgar Wallace Award for Writing or Reporting of the Highest Quality was given to Marina Hyde, The Guardian

The chair of the judges panel broadcaster Nick Ferrari said the award winners were “a fantastic tribute and a fair representative of this fantastic industry”.

London Press Club chair Doug Wills who introduced the awards said there had never been a greater need for trusted journalism.

The full list of award winners and the editor’s commendations

Newspaper of the Year, sponsored by Edwardian Hotels London

The i

As it approached its tenth anniversary, the I continued to grow in stature and authority. Competition for the paper of the year was so fierce that at the judges request four titles were shortlisted, but come the denouement it was the outsider, The i. that received the accolade. Thereabouts but never there at the top over the years, it was admired for concise writing across the daily paper wide spectrum and inspirational editing from the youngest national daily paper’s editor, Oliver Duff. And the Saturday edition, a comprehensive package offering a first-rate guide to the weekend, unanimously earned praise from the jury.

Sunday Newspaper of the Year sponsored by Edwardian Hotels London

The Sunday Times

While respectful of all the titles battling for a shrinking market, the judges observed that for quality across many fronts only two of them deserved to be shortlisted this year, Vigorous debate followed in deciding which deserved to win the prize, but eventually The Sunday Times edged out its main rival to collect an award to which it is no stranger. Investment in resources once again showed that the Times’ package out-muscled all opposition: excellent columnists, a fine sports section, plus superb arts coverage and long-established magazine that has never lost its glitter saw it triumph once more.

Business Journalist, sponsored by Cision

Peter Smith and Owen Walker Financial Times

The in-depth investigation into Woodford Investment Management was work of the highest quality leading to the fall of its top stock picker Neil Woodford and his lieutenant Craig Newman. With the invaluable assistance of fine research work by Anna Goss and Archie Hall, the FT team produced forensic probing that was, said the judges, an extraordinary piece of quality journalism.

Broadcast Journalist of the Year, sponsored by Associated British Ports

Andrew Neil, BBC

Andrew Neil conducted such a good interview with Boris Johnson during the Tory leadership contest that the man who became our Prime Minister didn’t fancy coming back for more during the General Election campaign. Neil conducted excellent interviews with those who did turn up at election time, re-emphasising his stature as a heavyweight political journalist determined to penetrate all kinds of spin to uncover to the truth.

Print Journalist of the Year, sponsored by Cision

Anthony Loyd, The Times

A distinguished war correspondent for The Times in Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria and Iraq, Loyd in 2019 found ISIL British bride Shamima Begum in the Al-Hawl camp in Northern Syria. He tape-recorded an interview with the 19-year-old mother who had left Britain when a schoolgirl in which she stated she had no regrets about moving to Islamic State-controlled territory .A stunning exclusive, said the judges.

Digital Journalist of the Year, sponsored by The Madison Square Garden Company

Matt Chorley, Red Box, The Times

Matt Chorley’s morning political email newsletter and podcast for The Times brilliantly combines comprehensive reporting, lampooning the great and not-so-good, and lacerating humour so successfully that it has spawned a touring stand-up comedy show, This is Not Normal, and become a must-read and audio treat for even its most-bruised victims. Wonderful, innovative journalism, agreed the judges.

Scoop of the Year

Sir Philip Green Exposé, Daily Telegraph

Retail tycoon Sir Philip Green tried in vain to prevent legally the Telegraph from publishing its exclusive revealing racial and sexual abuse of his staff and how some of them had been paid hundreds of thousands of pounds in exchange for signing non-disclosure agreements after complaining about his inappropriate behaviour. Despite dropping his legal claim against the paper he threatened to sue former staff who had signed NDAs if they spoke out against him. An earthquake of an exclusive..

Edgar Wallace Award for Writing or Reporting of the Highest Quality.

Marina Hyde. The Guardian

The diversity of the winner’s work was emphasised when early this year the Sports Journalists’ Association presented her with two awards including Sports Journalist for the Year, making her the first woman to receive it in its 43-year history. She also received the SJA’s Sports Columnist of the Year, but her work as a columnist for The Guardian had proved to readers over many years that her opinions – always beautifully written – were required reading. Ten out of ten for industry as well as quality, the judges agreed in selecting her to join the illustrious previous winners of this highly-prized accolade.

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