British officials have backed down after being criticised for refusing to grant a visa to a Syrian video journalist to attend an awards ceremony in London next week.

Humam Husari, who reported on the Syrian civil war for ITV for five years, will now be allowed into the UK after the Home Office dropped its objection on Friday.

The government had refused to authorise the 32-year-old’s entry to the country on the grounds that he might stay, despite assurances from ITV News that it had booked him return flights and would accompany him during his visit.

Husari, who is shortlisted for the Rory Peck award for news, thanked those who had helped to overturn the decision.

Humam Husari (@HumamHusari) Good News: My visit to the UK has just been approved! My deep thanks to everyone how spent an effort to make this happen.

Husari’s nomination was for a series of reports he filmed in eastern Ghouta in February and March for ITV News, documenting the suffering of ordinary people caught in the crossfire as the Syrian army fought to retake the town from rebels. The judges had praised his ability to find and track stories of individuals caught in the chaos – putting “a human face on the conflict”.

They said: “It’s striking that when we think of the conflict in Syria, we think of the plumes of smoke, the air raids, what’s above ground. In Humam’s work you get a sense of the hidden story that none of us really knew about – the tunnels and what it’s like to live underground, the only place people could take shelter.”

Supporting his visa claim, ITV had pointed out that Husari had work in Turkey, and that his wife had a university place there, but two applications it submitted on Husari’s behalf were denied.

In 2011, Husari, who studied at Brighton film school, began filming the protest movements that preceded the outbreak of the Syrian civil war. He went on to document the hardships of Syrians trying to live through the conflict.

The journalist escaped Syria in early summer, ITV News said, and now lives in Turkey with his family. His wife’s university fees and their rent are paid in advance, and Husari has secured work with a Turkish-Arabian television production company.

An ITV News spokesperson said Husari had been crucial to ITV News’s coverage of the conflict in Syria, including reports on the aftermath of a chemical weapons attack and civilians living underground during the siege of eastern Ghouta.

“We’re absolutely delighted that Humam’s visa has been granted and that he’ll be able to visit the UK next week to attend the Rory Peck awards.

“Thanks to swift action from the Home Office, Humam will now receive the recognition he deserves for his courageous journalism from his many friends and colleagues here in the UK.”