Fiona Hamilton

Fiona Hamilton tells the stories of those who can no longer speak for themselves. These are human stories - sensitively handled, meticulously researched and told with flair. They also hold the authorities to account in areas of huge public interest. Hamilton’s insightful and compelling work has revealed shortcomings and failings by those in charge and has become a catalyst for change. She has been able to uncover facts that the authorities would prefer to be left buried.

Hamilton’s magazine feature with the mothers of students killed in the Nottingham knife attacks was their only interview together. It was an emotive piece of writing that gave unprecedented insight into their despair, grief and anger after the unimaginably tragic loss of their children. It also set out in meticulous detail the string of failings by police, mental health agencies and other authorities that left their killer free to carry out his attack. Hamilton outlined failures to take action against Valdo Calocane that are under investigation to this day. She went on to produce a series of exclusives on police shortcomings in this case, including the force’s failure to prevent another murder just weeks earlier.

Hamilton’s second entry has a more personal slant, after she was assigned to cover the inquest into the death of Maeve Boothby O’Neill, the 27-year-old daughter of senior Times writer Sean O’Neill. Hamilton covered days of harrowing medical evidence about Maeve’s decline due to myalgic encephalomyelitis, a case distinguished by the powerlessness of doctors to help. Hamilton was compelled to write a feature that did not just present Maeve as a victim of this poorly misunderstood illness, although that was a crucial element in raising awareness of the need for a better approach and more research. It also depicted her as the exceptional person that she was. Maeve’s personality, kindness and zest for life shone through this piece of journalism which set out, in devastating detail, the need for change so that further premature deaths can be prevented.

The murders of Fiona Holm and Naomi Hunte, two black women killed by the same man 16 months apart, were utterly preventable. Yet, until Hamilton’s expose, the case had not attracted the national attention it deserved and the Metropolitan police had escaped proper scrutiny over its failings. Using court documents, family interviews and other material Hamilton revealed it to be one of the worst failings in the recent history of the beleaguered force. A case where apathy, failures to carry out basic checks and alleged racism left a violent man free to murder. Four officers are under investigation for misconduct.