Helena Horton joined the Guardian as an environment reporter in February, and has already had a series of impactful scoops, from a leaked version of the government’s food strategy to breaking the news that England had officially entered a drought this summer and exposing the small but influential group of Tories behind the climate-sceptic Net Zero Scrutiny Group. Her energy, enthusiasm for the environment beat, strong news judgment and pacy writing show through in her reporting, which reaches wide audiences and sets the agenda for her competitors.