London Press Club Awards 2026: Full list of winners as ‘vintage year for scoops’ celebrated

The year’s best journalism and reporting has been celebrated at the London Press Club Awards.

Known affectionately as the Oscars of journalism, the awards ceremony saw dozens of the media industry’s most influential figures gather at Stationer’s Hall near St Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday.

Compère and BBC broadcaster Riz Lateef opened the awards, praising what has been a “vintage year for news and scoops”.

The Press Media Title of the Year was awarded to The Daily Mail – which also garnered high praise in several categories at the prestigious awards ceremony.

The outlet was praised for its “countless scoops, exposes, and agenda-setting exclusives”, as well as its success in integrating print and online operations.

Notably, the Mail was applauded for how it handled a four-year-long legal battle against Prince Harry and six other high profile claimants.

“It and its journalists endured, stood firm – and won,” the judges said.

In a statement, read out by London Press Club Chairman Doug Wills, former Mail editor Paul Dacre said the High Court case had raised “deeply disturbing questions” about the treatment of the free press.

Mr Dacre said the case was unsuccessful in its attempt to “destroy a great paper and the free press,” but warned “the enemies” of the free press have not gone away.

Senior News Reporter at the Mail, Arthur Parashar, also won the prize on behalf of the outlet for Young Journalist of the Year.

He was applauded for his “sophistication, flair, and humanity to deliver agenda-setting exclusives.”

The top prize of journalist of the year was awarded to Gabriel Pogrund of the Sunday Times, who impressed judges with multiple scoops.

They included the web of secret payments that supported Nigel Farage’s return to politics and the false intelligence used by West Midlands Police to secure a ban on Israeli football fans attending a game in Birmingham.

Private Eye editor Ian Hislop received the Edgar Wallace Award, named after the late London-born writer.

Accepting the award, which acknowledges outstanding journalism and reporting, Mr Hislop recalled his efforts to spotlight the Post Office scandal.

He said: “I believe in investigative journalism, I believe in not taking things too seriously, and I believe in journalism as a difficult, worthwhile activity which should be fun.”

Martyn Ziegler of The Times won both Scoop of the Year and Sports Journalist of the Year after his expose on Gianni Infantino’s proposals to sell a stake in FIFA to private investors.

The photographer of the year was awarded to Phil Noble after he captured “that” photo of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor in the car following his arrest.

Mr Noble was praised for “his old-school” tactics that led to the image being shared across front pages around the world.

The Broadcaster of the Year Award was won by the BBC’s Lyse Doucet, who paid tribute to her colleagues at the BBC who had been made redundant as part of the public broadcaster’s cuts.

She ended her acceptance speech by declaring: “We will fight for our place in a democratic society.”

London Press Club Awards 2026 – full list of winners

Press Media Title of the Year: The Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday

Specialist Journalist of the Year: Larissa Brown, The Times

Journalist of the Year: Gabriel Pogrund, The Sunday Times

Political Journalist of the Year: Patrick Maguire, The Times

Broadcaster of the Year: Lyse Doucet, BBC News

Business Journalist of the Year: Anna Isaac, The Guardian

Photographer of the Year: Phil Noble

Showbiz Journalist of the Year: Tom Bryant, Daily Mirror

Sports Journalist of the Year: Martyn Ziegler

Podcast of the Year: Iran the Latest, The Telegraph

Young Journalist of the Year: Arthur Parashar, Daily Mail

Special Campaigning Award: Robert Fisk, Daily Express

Scoop of the Year: Martyn Ziegler

Londoner of the Year: Lady Mayor Sue Langley

Edgar Wallace Award: Ian Hislop