The Countryside Alliance (CA) has been voted “political personality of the decade” at the Channel 4 News awards.
In winning the award, the CA beat off competition from the anti-Iraq war coalition, Tony Blair, Ken Livingstone, Alex Salmond, Martin McGuiness and Ian Paisley.
The award was a special category in the annual political awards to mark the 10th anniversary of Channel 4 News.
Actor Jeremy Irons presented Channel 4’s “political personality of the decade” award to the CA’s chairman Kate Hoey and founding president Baroness Anne Mallalieu at a ceremony in London last night.
Receiving the accolade, Anne said there is “unfinished business” in the countryside.
CA chief executive Simon Hart told H&H: “it’s like winning an Oscar, and the acceptance speech was the same. Anne Mallelieu made it very clear that this is not an award for Alliance staff, but for the many thousands of people who have written, lobbied, marched and supported all our causes over the years.”
Barry Hugill from the League Against Cruel Sports told H&H he had “no comment” about the CA’s award.
The awards ceremony will be broadcast on Sunday night at 7pm on Channel 4.
