Independent writers win acclaim at British Journalism Awards

Kuba Shand-Baptiste and Lizzie Dearden receive recognition at acclaimed awards

The Independent celebrates its journalists who have received recognition for their work at the British Journalism Awards (The Independent)

The Independent is celebrating two accolades at this year’s British Journalism Awards.

Comment writer Kuba Shand-Baptiste was named best up-and-coming Bame journalist after being nominated for her work on racism, the education system and corporate advertising during the coronavirus pandemic.

She becomes the first winner of the Barbara Blake-Hannah Award, a new prize named after Britain’s first Black on-screen TV news reporter.

The judges said Ms Shand-Baptiste was “very much in the spirit of Barbara Blake-Hannah”, especially her article on Black Lives Matter that “hit all the right notes”.

Lizzie Dearden, home affairs and security correspondent at The Independent, was highly commended by judges who said she “produced a range of high-quality exclusive stories on huge matters of public interest”.

She was nominated for exposing the government’s refusal to release official research on the characteristics of grooming gangs, and for revealing how terrorists are able to radicalise other inmates in high-security jails, and that a paedophile former Conservative campaign manager previously worked as a children’s entertainer in primary schools.

The Independent was nominated for “news provider of the year” alongside seven others – including Sky News, The Sunday Times and The Guardian.

Judges highlighted The Independent’s reporting from elections and protests around the world – and said chief US correspondent, Andrew Buncombe, showed the importance of having journalists on the ground during his arrest covering the Black Lives Matter demonstrations.