Named political journalist of the year winner at the 2020 British Journalism Awards for his reporting on Covid in care homes, Brand regards his role as “giving a voice to the powerless”, such as the front-line workers “vindicated” by this week’s High Court ruling that the Government broke the law by discharging untested hospital patients into homes.Īdmired for his empathetic reporting, Brand admits: “I found covering that story hugely affecting. Tonight is “Britain’s most-watched weekly current affairs programme” (sorry, Panorama) and why would he leave ITV, which is in rude health journalistically, having “almost swept the board” at the recent Royal Television Society awards and extended its evening news to an hour?
