“The single most moving experience I have had in 30 years in journalism.”

That’s how Liverpool Echo editor Alastair Machray describes the moment, last September, when the Hillsborough Independent Panel (HIP) announced its findings, finally absolving Liverpool fans of responsibility for a disaster that claimed the lives of 96 of their own.

It was also the culmination of a campaign from the Trinity Mirror paper that spanned 23 years, four editors and countless column inches. It’s a campaign that earned recognition at the Regional Press Awards last month when the Echo picked up four of the top prizes, including daily newspaper of the year.