In memory of Tony Bevins, who died on 23 March 2001, The Bevins Prize for outstanding investigative journalism will be awarded annually from November 2008.

Tony was one of the best-known political journalists of his time, renowned for his often maverick determination to root out original stories, embarrass those in power, and challenge the abuse of authority.

He worked for a wide range of newspapers in the UK over a long career, first at the Liverpool Post and Echo, then for the Sun, the Daily Mail, the Times, the Independent, the Observer and the Daily Express. Few journalists have ranged so widely.

Wherever he worked, Tony researched rigorously, and sometimes presented almost a one-man stand against what the journalist and author Nick Davies has recently dubbed 'churnalism'. When he died Tony left behind a large cadre of journalists who had imbibed his exacting standards, as well as a number of crusading politicians who greatly missed his eagerness to ferret out facts in often unpopular or unconventional causes.

A number of these friends and associates have gathered to form the Bevins Trust, with the sole purpose of making an award that is designed to encourage and promote genuine investigative reporting.

The Prize is a bronze statue of a 'Rat up a Drainpipe' - Bevins' favourite phrase, capturing the essence of his approach to journalism. It will be awarded at the annual Society of Editors' conference.

Nominations are invited from any source. Entries will need to have been published between 1 June 2007 and 31 May 2008. Publication can be by any means - print, broadcast, or web.

The judges will be looking for work that required assiduous digging, and that successfully challenged those in power, wherever or whoever they may be.

Please contact by e-mail at bevinsprize@googlemail.com

Closing date 11 August 2008.

Click here to download the Bevins Award Terms and Conditions, including entry methods and criteria.

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