Veteran Guardian Investigative Reporter David Hencke Dies at 79

Renowned journalist David Hencke, whose career at the Guardian spanned more than three decades, has died of liver cancer at age 79.

Hencke, the paper’s former Westminster correspondent, was instrumental in exposing the “cash for questions” scandal that forced the resignations of two Conservative ministers, as well as the revelation that precipitated Peter Mandelson’s first departure from government.

Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner described Hencke as 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,” she said. “David became the most feared journalist in Westminster because of his acute nose for political scandal and wrongdoing. He worked with an enthusiasm and energy that inspired colleagues and rivals over an impressively long and important career.”

Francis Beckett, a distinguished journalist who collaborated with Hencke on three books, reflected on his colleague’s lifelong passion. “David discovered early in life something he loved doing and was very good at. And he was a lucky man; he was able to do it for all of his working life. And what he loved was finding things out that rich and powerful people didn’t want us to know, and telling us.”

Beckett recalled how Hencke’s unassuming manner masked formidable reporting instincts. “He looked and sounded completely harmless. If I had been a politician with a secret and I had looked at David, I can perfectly well imagine I would have confided in him.” Hencke remained active until the end, still pursuing a story a week before his death on Friday.

Hencke joined the Guardian as a reporter in 1986 before advancing to Westminster correspondent, a post he held until 2009. He later continued as an investigative journalist.

He was named Reporter of the Year in 1994 for his “cash for questions” coverage, which heightened public awareness of Conservative sleaze in the 1990s — a pivotal issue in the 1997 general election that ended 18 years of Tory rule. The scandal forced the resignations of ministers Neil Hamilton and Tim Smith; Smith stepped down as an MP, while Hamilton lost his seat to Martin Bell, who ran on an explicitly anti-corruption platform.

Hencke earned Scoop of the Year in 1998 for revealing Peter Mandelson’s undisclosed £373,000 home loan from then-colleague Geoffrey Robinson, which facilitated Mandelson’s purchase of a £475,000 Notting Hill property.

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