NoW and Mail take top honours from press club

After
its triumph at last month’s British Press Awards, the News of the World
has won another accolade, taking the London Press Club prize for Sunday
newspaper of the year.

The judges said: “Week after week it was
the Sunday newspaper that you picked up first because of its string of
exclusive stories.”

The Daily Mail – praised for its stand on
casinos, its campaign against binge drinking and its tsunami disaster
fundraising – was daily newspaper of the year. It was described as
“utterly tuned in to the mood of its readership” and “indespensible on
the breakfast table”.

The scoop of the year was The Sunday
Telegraph’s story ‘Blunkett’s Lover Accuses Him Of Fast-Tracking Visa
For Her Nanny’, edging out the News of the World’s ‘Blunkett Affair’
splash and The Sun’s ‘Hutton Report Leaked’. Judges said it had the
“most momentous political repercussions, leading to the resignation of
the Home Secretary”.

Alan Watkins of The Independent on Sunday
won the Edgar Wallace award for fine writing, Rachel Amatt of Sky News
won the broadcasting journalist award, the Evening Standard’s Anthony
Hilton was business reporter of the year and ITN’s Chris Choi was the
winner in the consumer affairs category. David Blunkett had agreed to
present the awards but dropped out at the last moment, blaming General
Election commitments.