Steven Swinford
The Times
In January he revealed that the UK and US were poised to mount airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, before the RAF typhoons involved had even left the runway. The exclusive story was picked up all over the World and dominated the websites and front pages of British and US news organisations. It also led to concerns in the US about such a significant leak about its military operations coming from the UK.
He was initially briefed by a senior government source that Rishi Sunak was poised to hold an emergency Cabinet meeting that evening concerning Yemen. Further calls confirmed that it concerned military intervention, with RAF Typhoons likely to be used to mount the airstrikes. The strikes were shrouded in secrecy and kept at the highest level of government.
He broke the news about Sunak's emergency Cabinet, and the pending military intervention, shortly after 6pm on both Twitter and The Times's website. Over the course of that evening he exclusively revealed further details, including details of a planned statement from Joe Biden, the US president. The intervention was eventually confirmed shortly after midnight. His second entry was a major domestic political scoop. He revealed on March 5 - the day before the Spring Budget - that Jeremy Hunt was preparing to announce a 2p cut in national insurance in what represented the last throw of the dice for the Tories.
The tax cut was worth £9billion, equivalent to £450 for 27million workers. The disclosure of the central measure in the Budget, 24 hours ahead of the fiscal event, led all major websites and broadcast bulletins and made the splash of nearly every national newspaper.
This was a significant leak that severely disrupted the Conservative's plans for the announcement, which they had hoped would be enough to shift the dial. Ultimately it was a gamble that failed to pay off. His third entry involved a major scoop on another Budget - this time under Labour. Five days before Rachel Reeves's first fiscal event he revealed the biggest tax-raising measure - plans to increase the employers' rate of national insurance.
The article, which was the product of weeks of conversations with sources, disclosed Reeves was planning to increase both the rate of NI while reducing the threshold at which employers start paying it in a bit to raise £20billion. It set out the lines of the battle which will continue for months, with business leaders warning of the impact on growth, wages and jobs. It also led to an intense debate about whether Labour had been honest in its manifesto. It was again a major leak which has dominated coverage. His position as the lead byline on each piece reflects the fact he brought in all three scoops. His entries demonstrate the cornerstones of his reporting - breaking major, agenda-changing stories and giving readers a genuine insight into politics and