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Asylum seekers’ campaign wins Paul Foot Award

  • Paul Foot
  • A journalist from the London Evening Standard has missed out on winning the Paul Foot Award for Campaigning Journalism after a drive to reduce poverty in the capital.

    David Cohen was on the shortlist for the prestigious award after the title’s campaign which has raised around £5m for charities which help those in poverty.

    The £5,000 prize was instead won by journalist Clare Sambrook for articles in openDemocracy, The Guardian, Private Eye and other publications against the government policy of locking up asylum-seeking families in conditions which could harm their mental health.

    At the ceremony, Eamonn McCann, who was shortlisted for articles in the Irish Times, the Belfast Telegraph and the Guardian about Bloody Sunday, was given a Special Lifetime Campaign Award of £2,000 for his 40 years of campaigning journalism on behalf of the victims.

    The Paul Foot Awards were set up by the Guardian and Private Eye in honour of the campaigning journalist who died in 2004 and the event was held at the headquarters of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts last night.

    Each of those on the shortlist were awarded £1,000.

    Also shortlisted for this year’s award were:
    Jonathan Calvert and Clare Newell, The Sunday Times
    Nick Davies, The Guardian
    Linda Geddes, The New Scientist