Eminent news reporter Stephen Sackur issues a rallying cry for the vital role of investigative journalism in holding the powerful to account.

In Hard Truths he highlights ten dramatic cases where journalists told truth to power, including Daniel Ellsberg’s expose of the US government’s Pentagon papers, Alexei Navalny’s anti-corruption fight in Russia, and Daphne Caruna who took on systemic corruption in Malta.

In  a world of disinformation, where lies are weaponised and the truth is targeted, independent journalists are increasingly on the frontline in the fight to save democracy.

Sackur mounts a case for truth-telling in the face of authoritarian political power, organised crime and a tech elite monopoly, demonstrating that the fight can still be won.

He spent 15 years as a BBC foreign correspondent, later becoming inquisitor-in-chief for 20 years at the BBC’s HARDtalk, before becoming a regular presenter on the The Times at One (Times Radio) in March 2025.