Duncan Campbell, award-winning Guardian crime reporter, dies aged 80

Duncan Campbell, the celebrated Guardian crime reporter, writer and broadcaster whose work highlighted corruption, the shortcomings in the justice system and miscarriages of justice, has died at the age of 80.

- Michael Savage

Campbell was one of the most respected crime correspondents of his generation, fearlessly pursuing police corruption and reporting on some of the most notorious criminal cases of recent decades, including the Rosemary West trial and the Hatton Garden heist.

Campbell joined the Guardian in 1987. He soon became its crime correspondent, quickly establishing himself as one of the most authoritative and respected journalists covering the beat. He was also elected chair of the Crime Reporters Association for several years in the 1990s and won the Bar Council's newspaper journalist of the year award in 1992.

In 1997, Campbell successfully defended himself against a libel claim brought by police officers in Stoke Newington, north-east London. The case was seen at the time as a test of the media's ability to investigate alleged police corruption.

Five officers had sued the Guardian over two articles by Campbell in January 1992, which they claimed suggested they were involved in drug dealing. After the case, Campbell described it as "an extremely important verdict both for national and local newspapers who want to honestly report investigations into alleged corruption".

A House of Commons motion, signed by 40 MPs, described it as "a landmark victory both for responsible journalism and for the maintenance of public confidence in the police".