Sir Samuel Brittan, noted Financial Times economic commentator, has won the first ever Wincott Lifetime Achievement Award. The judges said Sir Samuel never failed to “illuminate economic issues in a way that is refreshing, insightful and often unexpected.”

Sir Samuel, who joined the Financial Times in the 1950s has spent almost his entire journalistic career at the FT. Notably, he was also the first winner of the Wincott Journalist of the Year Award in 1970.

Moira O’Neill of Investors Chronicle, a FT publication, won the 2012 Wincott Personal Finance Journalist of the Year Award. The judges said O’Neill’s “articles are valuable both for professional and non-professional investors – a model for what personal financial journalism should be aiming at.”

The Wincott Foundation seeks to support and encourage high quality economic, financial and business journalism. Entries are judged on clarity, depth of understanding and objectivity. The winner must have the ability to write about complex topics in a way that is intelligible to the lay person but also authoritative.