"the Independent", David Mckittrick And Colin Wallace

EDM number 475 in 1989-90, proposed by George Galloway on 07/02/1990.

That this House notes The Independent newspaper's claim to be a serious quality newspaper, purporting to demonstrate high standards of objectivity, eschewing such potential sources of misinformation as the Parliamentary lobby system, seeking joint commitments with other newspapers to amongst other things the prompt correction of factual errors; further notes the September 1987 article in The Independent by David McKittrick, said by him at the time to have been the result of an investigation into Colin Wallace and which blackguarded his claims as being those of a liar and fantasist, the basis of which article was in fact being offered to and had been rejected by other British newspapers as being from dubious sources; notes that not one word of the McKittrick smear has been withdrawn and that indeed it was compounded by him in The Independent (3.2.90); notes that despite Press Council requests, Andreas Whittam Smith has repeatedly avoided meeting Wallace to discuss his complaints; and demands that such a meeting takes place and that due apology and recompense be made to Colin Wallace for the deeply damaging misinformation The Independent has published, which misinformation may have been used by the authorities to continue the cover-up of malpractice and treason in Northern Ireland.

This motion has been signed by a total of 22 MPs.