Britain's Ken Loach wins Cannes gold with moving austerity tale

Cannes

BRITISH director Ken Loach won the Palme d'Or top prize at Cannes on Sunday for the second time in a decade with his moving drama I, Daniel Blake about the shame of poverty in austerity-hit Europe.

The award marked a major upset at the world's top film festival in favour of the left-wing director, who turns 80 next month and is known for shining a light on the downtrodden. He beat runaway favourites including the rapturously received German comedy Toni Erdmann by Maren Ade, one of three female directors in competition, and US indie legend Jim Jarmusch's Paterson starring Adam Driver as a poetry-writing bus driver. Both left empty-handed.

Loach now joins an elite club of two-time victors at the French Riviera festival …