Helena Vesty has a track record of innovative, tenacious, and compelling investigative reporting, advocating for those often forgotten. Through her work, she creates real-world change desperately needed by the most deprived northern communities.

Helena revealed that Aviva were using a morally bankrupt loophole to wriggle out of paying terminally ill policy holders. By poring over legal documents, she was able to reveal that a dying man is ineligible to claim life insurance because of small print – and while Aviva had stopped selling this policy in 2013, they had never told customers about it.

She continued to diligently report on as many new lines as she could, commissioning powerful photographs and creating content for each of Manchester Evening News’s digital platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, and newsletters. Proof of Helena’s excellent use of digital amplification came when one of almost 29,000 readers got in touch facing the same problem.

Helena launched a public campaign for change. And after months of contact work, searing stand-offs with Aviva bosses, and lobbying MPs, Helena achieved a Parliamentary motion calling for an inquiry across the insurance industry.

In addition to this, Helena has spent years covering how north Manchester residents, among the sickest people in the country, were promised a new hospital for years that has never materialised. Helena launched a campaign to compel Wes Streeting to finally start replacing the community’s Victorian-era facility, and her dogged investigation work revealed the dire conditions at the hospital, including collapsing theatre ceilings and mouldy maternity units.

To complement the many stories on the Manchester Evening News’s website, Helena scoured technical data available online about the poor life expectation in the area, and created a digital petition signed by more than 2,700 people. She then ensured that this petition was amplified using the Manchester Evening News’s extensive social media following, driving engagement with communities across the region. Readers responded with emotive stories of the importance of the hospital, which Helena then weaved into her storytelling to put pressure on the government to act.

Ultimately, Helena won the campaign, with Wes Streeting confirming that a £1.5bn rebuild will go ahead in 2027.

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