Award for Independent finance journalist Simon Read

Simon Read spearheaded The Independent’s campaign to curb the excesses of payday lenders (Jason Alden/The Independent)

Simon Read, the personal finance editor of The Independent, has been named the Consumer Finance Journalist of the Year in a national awards scheme voted for by other journalists and financial public-relations experts.

The annual Headline Money awards recognise the best in financial journalism. More than 300 journalists were nominated this year, from broadsheet, tabloid, magazine, broadcast and online money categories. In picking Read as the winner, one judge said: “His way of doing things is to put people at the heart of his stories.” Another added: “He tackles real-life situations, and when you’re talking about the consumer money category that’s important.”

Read spearheaded The Independent’s campaign to curb the excesses of payday lenders, which helped to lead to major changes in regulation of high-cost credit providers. He has also waged war on rising energy costs and challenged utility giants to find ways to reduce fuel poverty.

“This award is really down to the readers,” he said. “It is they who drive our campaigns and articles, and I would like to thank all those who have got in touch with tales of financial injustice.”