Age and failing health are bringing Nelson Mandela to the end of his life. As he retreats from the world, his family is locked into an unseemly battle over his legacy — and stands accused of exploiting his name. David James Smith investigates.

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Awarding David the title for the second consecutive year, the judges said: “His pieces have an unrivalled scope and ambition. He gets to the heart of difficult subjects and consistently provides a definitive account…”

In September four year old Zeena al-Hilli and her sister Zainab, aged seven, lost their parents and grandmother when they were murdered in a brutal attack in the French Alps. Three months later, detectives are still searching for the killer – and the motive. With unprecedented access to family and friends David James Smith pieces together new evidence.

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The fatwa on Salman Rushdie forced him into hiding and gave the West its first glimpse of Islamic extremism. As the author publishes his memoir, some of the key people who helped him escape the death squads talk for the first time to David James Smith.

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Ali Dizaei has just emerged from jail, where he was abused, assaulted and had excrement poured over him. After being convicted twice for misconduct and sacked from the Met Police, why does he think he can get his old job back? By David James Smith.

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Gary Speed was a father of two, a successful former footballer, the manager of Wales and universally respected. So why, at the age of 42, was he found hanged at his home after an evening of larking about with friends? David James Smith investigates.

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On Facebook, Jamie Counsel called for riots in Cardiff. They never happened but now he’s serving a four-year stretch. David James Smith met him in jail and discovers other young people who got carried away in the week of shame.

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The coppers in Manchester’s murder squad have seen it all and plenty of it they’d rather forget. David James Smith joins the investigators trying to solve a fatal shooting. As the gruesome picture emerges he witness the trials and tribulations of dealing with random violence and death every day.

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Claudia Lawrence, a shy young chef, simply disappeared more than two years ago. In their desperate search for clues, were the police right to concentrate on Claudia’s “complicated” love life?

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Shortlisted in the 2012 Orwell Prize for Journalism.

http://theorwellprize.co.uk/shortlists/filter/type-Journalism%20Prize/year-2012/