Two ‘Oscars’ for Money Mail
MONEY MAIL has been awarded two prestigious gongs in recognition of its fierce campaigning on behalf of readers.
In the ‘ Oscars’ of personal finance journalism, editor Dan Hyde was named Journalist of the Year and reporter Paul Thomas was awarded the Rising Star prize in London on Tuesday night.
Headline Money Awards judges praised Money Mail for ‘holding financial institutions and other big-ticket providers to account’ for its readers, with its ‘attack dog stance’ leading to a hugely successful year.
Major campaign victories included winning a U-turn on Government plans to scrap tax relief on pension savings and forcing insurers to come clean on stealth annual price hikes.
Money Mail’s Save Our Pensions cam- paign exposed how former Chancellor George Osborne was plotting to raid millions of savers’ retirement funds in a move that would have cost them thousands of pounds.
This paper also probed car hire and holiday money rackets in Spain; exposed the stock market traders scamming British pensioners from Israel; shamed HMRC for pocketing tax breaks that should have applied to charity donations; and was the first to report on the chaos caused by the £1,000 savings tax allowance.
The independent judging panel of journalists and industry experts praised editor Dan Hyde for ‘running a successful team rewarded with several shortlistings and victories elsewhere in this year’s awards’, adding: ‘The parts add up to an impressive sum.’
They said of reporter Paul Thomas: ‘Paul clearly knows his patch extremely well. He writes with authority and his writing tone is perfect for his audience.’
Deputy editor Victoria Bischoff and chief reporter Ruth Lythe were shortlisted for their work on insurance and pensions, while Sylvia Morris was recognised for her coverage of banks’ miserly savings rates.