Ian Bond
Hull Daily Mail
Libby Squire coverage University of Hull student Libby Squire went missing after a night out in Hull on February 1, 2019. What followed was one of the most complex and challenging stories that I have ever had to work on in my 18 years at the Mail. The police spent the following weeks and months searching for any sign of the missing 21-year-old. Her heartbroken family, friends and the people of Hull waited for any news of what happened to her. My submission includes the conclusion of the trial where her killer was finally sentenced to life behind bars. It details never seen before CCTV of how the Hull student tragically fell into the clutched of a depraved night predator and a picture of Libby we had not used in print before. Lockdown The coronavirus pandemic has been dominated by facts and figures, from rolling infection rates to the grim toll of daily deaths. The Mail has tried to present front pages to unite our community by focusing on the thousands of people living in lockdown and our heroic key workers. My submission includes the Mail’s coverage on the two-year anniversary of when the pandemic hit our region. Looking at how the city has suffered, coped and is now recovering from Covid-19. Johnny Whiteley My final example is tragic loss of one of Hull’s greats. Johnny Whiteley MBE had an impact that spanned generations and went beyond a rugby field into all communities, the man who narrowly avoided death in the Second World War when his street was bombed, went on to ensure it was not just a life lived and a talent served, but that the city he cherished so much benefited too. Johnny was more than just a rugby league player and coach. He was an educator, a mentor and an inspiration that for 70 years impacted on the young and old of this great city in a way that arguably no other has done.