Brassic Guardian can't foot awards bill any more
Most journalism awards are a somewhat cynical bid to raise revenues by catering to journalists' egos. This can be lucrative: tables at the Press Awards last week started at £3,450 + VAT for the basic option.
This largesse was, for most of the awards' history, thanks to the generosity of Private Eye and the Guardian. But as Eye editor Ian Hislop grizzled – twice – at the ceremony, the Guardian, 'now down to its last billion pounds', no longer feels able to financially support the awards, leaving Hislop with the bill.
So when the – very worthy – winners were announced, Patrick Butler and Josh Halliday for a series on the scandal of the government prosecuting carers, it came with a slight sting in the tail. Hislop would have to hand over an envelope full of cash to two journalists… from the Guardian.
So apparently aghast was he at this development that Hislop forgot to hand it over, requiring another Private Eye staffer to chase down the winners with the envelope before they left the event to make sure they got it.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
2 minutes ago
- Metro
David Attenborough fans left facing ‘nightmares' after spider sequence
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video For most people, just the thought of a cluster of spiders crawling on top of each other within a large, entangling web is enough to send a shiver down your spine. But for David Attenborough and his latest series Parenthood, which explores the trials and tribulations of parenting within the animal kingdom, clearly, that's not enough. The 99-year-old natural historian seems to be intent on showcasing one of the most nightmarish sequences possible as a 1,000-strong pack of young African social spiders can be seen eating their mothers. Captured by TV cameras in a never-before-seen moment, the premier episode of the series saw the spiders prey in a game of 'grandmother's footsteps' where they freeze in unison like musical statues before eating their elderly relatives. Attenborough explained 'demands of parenthood are finally taking their toll' on the mothers who offered their body as a 'gift' to their offspring before they departed. The atmospheric music, toe-curling sound effects and Attenborough's iconic voice combined to create the painstaking moment. 'Unsurprisingly, the moment left many viewers in complete shock. Oh my GOD they eat their Mum then all their relatives. It just confirms what I have always know spiders are EVIL,' Viki posted on X. 'These spiderlings are nightmare fuel,' Melanie shared. 'A lioness, a giraffe,a hippo & a gang of cannibal spiders, it's been a bit of a blood bath in tonight's #Parenthood I can hardly watch,' Neil added. Series producer and director Jeff Wilson described it as 'probably one of the best' sequences he had worked on in 30 years of film-making. '[I've] never heard Sir David deliver a sequence as good as that… it sort of brings a lump to your throat… he's the master at delivery,' he told the Guardian. 'It makes one feel quite sort of chilled to the bone that you know that your own young could do that. It's an extraordinary behaviour [but] when you step away from it and from the horror of it, it sort of makes sense.' He added that Attenborough was both 'delighted and horrified' by the groundbreaking footage. Joking, he also said that 'there will not be a parent of the land who won't turn up to school pickup without snacks ever again'. This comes after Metro exclusively shared a spectacularly tender moment from Parenthood between a female western lowland gorilla and her newborn baby. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The snoozing baby gorilla is in a state of peaceful relaxation while lying on his mother's chest, his eyes closed as the forest hums gently around them. The five-part series Parenthood promises to show viewers never-before-seen animal behaviours while delivering a 'universal message about preserving the natural world.' More Trending Speaking to The Mirror, BBC head of specialist factual commissioning, Jack Bootle, described Parenthood as 'wonderful, warm, engaging, and surprising'. He said that it is 'made by some of the very best wildlife filmmakers in the world,' adding: 'I'm thrilled Sir David is joining us again to narrate it.' Parenthood is streaming on BBC iPlayer. View More » A version of this article was originally published on July 31, 2025. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: 'Deeply moving' TV show that will break your heart lands on Netflix MORE: Mrs Brown's Boys loses 8,500,000 viewers as fans complain 'it's got even worse' MORE: David Attenborough's new Parenthood documentary – Everything you need to know
The Guardian
7 hours ago
- The Guardian
Is sarcasm the lowest form of wit? If not, what is?
Is sarcasm the lowest form of wit? If not, what is? Jason Frank, Cumbria Post your answers (and new questions) below or send them to nq@ A selection will be published next Sunday.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
Caribbean LGBTQ+ activists celebrate as court strikes down colonial-era laws
Activists have hailed a historic judgment striking down colonial-era laws that criminalised gay sex in St Lucia as a step forward for LGBTQ+ rights in the Caribbean country. This week the Eastern Caribbean supreme court found that the island's so-called buggery and gross indecency laws, which criminalised consensual anal sex, were unconstitutional. In a joint statement to the Guardian, a group of activists who were the claimants in the case described the judgment as 'deeply personal' but added that there was 'still work to be done'. 'We know not everyone will agree with the ruling – and that's OK. We're not asking anyone to change their beliefs. What we are asking for is fairness. These laws were outdated and violated the basic human rights of LGBTQ+ people. Striking them down is just the beginning of creating a safer, more inclusive Saint Lucia for all of us,' the statement said. Speaking to reporters at a press conference after the judgment, attorney Veronica Cenac, who worked on the case, said it was important to remember the origin of the laws. 'Many persons believe that [they are] a part of our cultural identity and that those persons who are asking for their repeal are promoting a western, global north agenda – which is clearly not the case considering that these laws were imposed on us during colonial times,' she said. In St Lucia, the law penalised gay sex with up to 10 years in prison. While the government did not enforce the law, activists and legal experts say it remained a threat to the island's LGBTQ+ community. 'The mere existence of this provision is itself a violation of human rights and underpins further acts of discrimination,' according to Human Dignity Trust, a UK-based legal organisation that helped work on the case. In 2019, the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality began filing legal challenges against such laws in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Lucia. In 2022, courts in Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, and St Kitts and Nevis struck down those laws. Last year, a court in Dominica did the same. Describing how hearing the monumental judgment left them 'breathless', Kenita Placide, the Alliance's executive director, said: 'It is not often that we, as activists, get to see the results of our hard work.' But, they warned that, while the outcome was a 'stride in the right direction', LGBTQ+ people in St Lucia needed to remain on guard. Several gay men have been brutally murdered in the country over the years, and Placide warned that the judgment did not mean 'that all of a sudden we can do the gay parade without thinking about safety'. 'Right now, there's a little bit of a tension in country. Because almost every two males that walk around are being watched with some kind of scrutiny that they may be engaging. And people are ready to put up phones like they need to be the first to capture,' Placide said. Changing the law was 'half the battle',Placide said, adding that the other half was 'changing hearts and minds where we can actually coexist in the community without being killed' because of sexual orientation. Téa Braun, the chief executive of the Human Dignity Trust, said: 'This is a significant victory for the Caribbean's LGBT community and now leaves just five remaining jurisdictions in the western hemisphere that continue to criminalise consensual same-sex intimacy.' The judgment, Cenac said, could have 'persuasive value' in the remaining countries: Jamaica, Grenada, Guyana, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. Earlier this year, the Trinidad and Tobago supreme court overturned a 2018 high court judgment to remove its 'buggery' laws. Campaigners have expressed concern about the country's case, which will go before the privy council in London, the final court of appeal for UK overseas territories and some Commonwealth countries. One of the issues, they say, is a 'savings clause', a legal technicality created to protect colonial laws. Trinidad and Tobago-based Sharon Mottley, regional programme manager for the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association of North America and the Caribbean, said the ruling brought 'renewed hope and momentum' to the region. 'Here in Trinidad and Tobago, in spite of the reversal this year, the gay community came out in their numbers and we held our Pride Parade on July 20th through the streets of Port of Spain and it was really to send a powerful message that we're here and we're not going anywhere. We refuse to be criminalised and our visibilities, our pride, our resistance and our demand for full recognition will continue,' Mottley said.
