Far-sighted individuals – people such as Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale, primatologist Jane Goodall, historian David Olusoga and Gillian Tett, the financial journalist who warned of the 2008 global financial crash – are among those who have been publicly honoured in the past by the British Academy, the body that promotes excellence in the social sciences and humanities.
But this year, for the first time, the Observer can reveal, the academy’s prestigious president’s medal, awarded annually, will go instead to a team of people.
