The award recognises journalism carried out in the spirit of the late Paul Foot, combining intrepid investigative skills, dogged campaigning and a deep commitment to championing fairness and exposing wrongdoing.

Pádraig Reidy, chair of the judges, said: "This year’s entries demonstrated the strength of journalism in the UK right now, in spite of the doom-laden headlines. The longlist reflects the many ways that good journalism, whether published in centuries-old papers or fledgling newsletters, can shape our national conversations, root out abuses of trust and make tangible difference" to people’s lives."

The judging panel included last year’s winners Patrick Butler and Josh Halliday of the Guardian, along with Samira Ahmed, Matt Foot, Janine Gibson, Francis Wheen, Helen Lewis, Julia Langdon and Sir Simon Jenkins. From the longlist of 12, a shortlist of six will be selected and published in issue 1675 of Private Eye, on sale from Wednesday 13 May.

The winner of the annual prize, worth £8,000, will be announced on 1 June.

Suzanne Antelme
The Reading Chronicle
The SEND provider run by a drug smuggler
Trainee reporter Antelme uncovered the remarkable story of how Berkshire councils paid more than £1m to Remedicare, a SEND provider whose director has been convicted for smuggling drugs into prison.

Lindsay Bruce
The Press and Journal
Trapped by RAAC Campaign
Aberdeen’s Press and Journal led a relentless fight for justice for homeowners facing financial ruin after their houses were found to be unsafe due to the use of RAAC (aerated concrete) in their construction. The campaign, driven by reporter Bruce, eventually secured a £4.3m package for residents in one of the poorest parts of the city.

Adam Bychawski
Big Issue/The Lead
How the UK fails victims of miscarriages of justice
Bychawski’s reporting revealed how a 2014 legal change led to many people who were wrongly convicted and imprisoned, often for years, being denied compensation for their ordeal.

Joe Duggan
i paper
Silicosis scandal of killer kitchen worktops
Duggan told the story of workers who have suffered and even died of silicosis after cutting quartz kitchen worktops without sufficient protection. The reporting has been followed by a criminal investigation into one death and the tabling of a bill outlawing unsafe quartz cutting.

Peter Geoghegan & Khadija Sharife
Democracy for Sale
How Labour Together hired a PR firm to target journalists
The Democracy for Sale newsletter uncovered how campaign group Labour Together had hired a PR firm to build dossiers on reputable journalists with the intent to discredit them. The investigation led to the resignation of former Labour Together chief Josh Simons from his post as parliamentary secretary in the Cabinet Office.

Chloe Hadjimatheou
The Observer
The real Salt Path investigation
Hadjimatheou’s investigation into the story behind the publishing sensation The Salt Path uncovered a trail of deceit, questionable claims and dubious medical diagnosis at odds with the inspiring story of triumph over adversity portrayed in the bestselling books and film.

Georgina Quach
Financial Times
The middlemen UK universities cannot live without
Quach showed how UK universities are increasingly reliant on recruitment agents, who misleadingly promise students high-flying degrees, high-paying jobs in the UK and even guaranteed indefinite leave to remain, while reaping profits from both prospective international students and UK institutions.

Justine Smith
The House/Private Eye
Profiteering from vulnerable children
Writing in Private Eye and The House magazine, Smith showed how profiteering is rampant in the special educational care sector, with private equity funds making millions from local authorities, while vulnerable children are still let down by ever-more expensive services.

Kamal Sultan & Andrew Jehring
The Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday
Who is the real Mo Farah?
Sultan and Jehring’s reporting told the complex story of the boy who was left behind when Mo Farah escaped Somalia for the UK, taking up another child’s asylum place.

Telegraph Investigates team
The Daily Telegraph
David Walliams dropped by publisher over inappropriate behaviour towards women
The Telegraph Investigates team revealed how children’s author and Britain’s Got Talent judge Walliams had faced accusations of harassing junior female staff at publisher HarperCollins. Walliams was dropped by the publisher after the story appeared.

Daniel Timms, Mollie Simpson, Dan Hayes, Jack Walton, Abi Whistance
Sheffield Tribune
Andrew Milne: the litigious lawyer who demanded five-figure sums from homeowners
The Tribune newsletter investigated allegations that London-based solicitor Andrew Milne used leasehold loopholes to extract sums of £25,000 upwards from Yorkshire homeowners. Milne has subsequently been arrested as part of a criminal investigation.

Rob Waugh
Press Gazette
Reality wars
Waugh’s investigation showed how media outlets had been taken in by dozens of AI-generated "experts" created by unscrupulous PR firms to give on-the-spot quotes for more than 1,000 stories.

Queries

Any queries should be directed to Anna Zanetti at Midas PR.

Tel: 0758 312 7515

Email: Anna.Zanetti@midas-group.com