The i paper

i's commitment to serving the public interest has been at the centre of its reporting ever since launching in 2010. Now a digital publisher with 8 million readers and a large subscriber base, that dedication has grown rapidly with i breaking a series of stories of national significance. 

Dean Kirby’s investigation into prepayment meters exposed a UK-wide scandal: energy suppliers increasingly using court warrants to force entry into the UK’s poorest homes to forcibly fit prepayment meters – leaving vulnerable families in the cold and dark as energy bills rocketed. In 40 stories, including six front pages over four months, Kirby’s investigation changed Government policy, sparked multiple Ofgem investigations and led to one of the country’s most senior judges to instruct every court in England and Wales to stop granting the warrants immediately. On the world stage, reporter Richard Holmes revealed how a Russian agent was living in London with his family after using Britain's Homes for Ukraine scheme. 

During a six-month investigation, Holmes tracked the man to a luxury apartment in the capital. i's front page exclusive was widely followed, sparked diplomatic turmoil and led Ukrainian officials to file extradition requests to the UK asking for the alleged Russian spy to be returned to Ukraine to face justice. Politically, i has a unique pledge: only one national newspaper has never endorsed a political party. That doesn’t mean bland BBC coverage in pursuit of ‘balance’, but spiky reporting which holds all political leaders to account. i has used this independence to lead scrutiny of Labour’s (scant) policy pledges. With the party in position to take power at the next election, i revealed it had dropped a flagship plan to end the charitable status of independent schools. 

i also revealed billions in unfunded spending planned by Labour. As for the Conservatives, i revealed a pensions raid; a fresh round of public spending cuts before Jeremy Hunt could announce them in his Autumn Statement; and that Rishi Sunak’s wife held shares in a firm set to benefit from the Budget. (She then cut ties.) i’s focus on how policy affects real people is fundamental to coverage. Housing Correspondent Vicky Spratt’s peerless reporting of the UK housing crisis is an example of superb public interest journalism. She has exposed the reality of five-minute courtroom evictions and revealed how 20,000 families were forced to move hundreds of miles. Her coverage of conditions in social housing has been repeatedly referenced by Housing Secretary Michael Gove in the House of Commons.i’s health reporting has been especially popular among younger female readers. New reporter Connie Dimsdale delivered policy-changing scoops on womens’ health. Her work on chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) led to it being recognised as a distinct condition for the first time by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. i punches above its weight, competing successfully against older news publishers with bigger (but less impactful) newsrooms. 

This year i's reporting repeatedly set the national news agenda with stories that are demonstrably in the public interest. Fast digital growth has led to subscriber numbers doubling and the online audience hitting 8 million, while the print iweekend edition sells more copies than it did a year ago and has overtaken The Guardian. i excels in its mission – delivering trusted, non-partisan public interest journalism time and again.