He awoke the world to great injustices

Tributes to journalist who took on West and exposed atrocities

- JESSICA BOULTON

CAMPAIGNING journalist and broadcaster John Pilger has died at 84.

The trailblazer, who died on Saturday, was just feet from Robert F Kennedy when he was assassinated and the first journalist to reveal Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia.

His family said: "His journalism and documentaries were celebrated around the world but to his family he was simply the most amazing and loved dad, grandad and partner. Rest in peace." Pilger made documentaries for BBC and ITV, covering topics from Vietnam to the indigenous people of Australia.

His 1974 documentary Thalidomide: The NinetyEight We Forgot, revealed the battle for compensation for children after concerns were raised about birth defects when expectant mothers took the drug.

Last night, ITV boss Kevin Lygo said: "John was a giant of campaigning journalism. He eschewed comfortable consensus and instead offered a radical, alternative approach on current affairs and a platform for dissenting voices over 50 years."

After six decades of reporting, he was still a tireless campaigner till the end.