David Hencke, Guardian journalist who exposed ‘cash for questions’ scandal, dies aged 79 | Media
Acclaimed journalist David Hencke, whose career at the Guardian spanned more than three decades, has died of liver cancer aged 79.
Hencke, the Guardian’s former Westminster correspondent, was instrumental in uncovering the scoop on the “cash for questions” scandal that led to the resignation of two Conservative ministers, as well as Peter Mandelson’s first resignation from the government.
Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief of the Guardian, said: “David Hencke was a true Fleet Street legend. He worked for the Guardian for more than 30 years and was responsible for breaking some of the biggest political stories of the time.
“David became Westminster’s most feared journalist because of his keen nose for political scandal and wrongdoing. He worked with an enthusiasm and energy that inspired colleagues and rivals throughout an impressively long and important career.”
Francis Beckett, the distinguished journalist who worked with Hencke on three books, said: “David discovered early in his life something he loved to do and was very good at. And he was a lucky man; he was able to do it all his working life. And what he loved was finding out and telling us things that rich and powerful people didn’t want us to know.”
“As I worked with him on the three books we did together, I regularly saw his excitement at finding something truly new, something that someone powerful had tried to hide, and putting it into the book.”
Beckett recalled how Hencke’s easy-going demeanor and keen nose for a story made him a formidable reporter. “He looked and sounded completely harmless. If I were a politician with a secret and I looked at David, I can well imagine I would trust him.”
He revealed that Hencke was still working on a story until a week before his death on Friday. “That’s what he loved to do.”
Hencke joined the paper as a reporter in 1986 and subsequently served as Westminster correspondent until his departure in 2009. In his later career, he worked as an investigative journalist.
Hencke was named reporter of the year in 1994 for his coverage of the “cash for questions” scandal. The story played a key role in raising public awareness of the Conservative Party’s immorality in the 1990s; This was an issue that came to the fore in the 1997 general election, which ended 18 years of Conservative rule.
It eventually led to the resignations of ministers Neil Hamilton and Tim Smith. The latter resigned as MP, while the former was defeated by Martin Bell, who clearly stood on an anti-corruption platform.
Hencke also won the news of the year award in 1998 for exposing Peter Mandelson’s secret £373,000 home loan with his beleaguered government colleague Geoffrey Robinson. This cash enabled Mandelson to buy his £475,000 home in Notting Hill, Hencke and his colleagues reported.
