The shortlist for this year’s Paul Foot award, which aims to celebrate the very best in campaigning journalism, are as follows:

• Richard Brooks of Private Eye – for his articles investigating the government’s involvement with fund management company Actis

• Camilla Cavendish of The Times – for a series of pieces and a campaign against miscarriages of justice carried out under the Children’s Act 1989

• Andrew Gilligan of the Evening Standard – for his investigation into financial irregularities at London’s City Hall and the London Development Agency

• Warwick Mansell of The Times Educational Supplement – for his work on the SATS test marking scandal and educational opposition to the government’s league table system for schools

• Dan McDougall of The Observer – for investigating child labour in South Asia, particularly that perpetrated by clothing retailers Esprit, Primark and Gap Inc

• Jim Oldfield of Rossington Community Newsletter, South Yorkshire Newspapers – for coverage of opposition to the proposed construction of an ‘eco-town’ in Rossington