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Showing posts with label Allison Morris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Allison Morris. Show all posts
Áine O'Halloran takes a dim view of a new women's media group and asks some serious questions.

The new group set up to give a voice to women journalists is a very good idea but a big problem with "Women in Media Belfast" is that Allison Morris is a founder of it. Of all the women journalists in this country, she would definitely be the most unsuited to starting up this new group.

When I saw this group announced on social media, my first thought was "What would Lyra McKee make of it?" Lyra McKee was the young journalist murdered by the New IRA in Derry at Easter in 2019. She did not have a good experience of Allison Morris during her few years in journalism. Allison Morris had never even met Lyra McKee but she was very hostile to her on social media. Lyra felt that certain material was so nasty and the tone so bullying she went and reported it to the PSNI.

Lyra McKee going to the PSNI about Allison Morris is not a claim or an allegation. It is a statement of fact, and there are many people who can confirm that it did happen. A NUJ official took it so seriously that they actually accompanied Lyra McKee to the police station and supported her when she was there.

Allison Morris may have cleaned up her Twitter since then and certain things may be deleted now but Lyra McKee recorded everything and too many people know what Lyra's experience was of Allison Morris. Lyra's partner, Sara Canning, last year raised it with the most senior NUJ official in the UK. Members of Lyra's family know what happened also. Lyra had a big circle of friends in Northern Ireland and they know this all as well.

Some of these friends are journalists and others are definitely well known in their jobs. The well respected victims campaigner Ann Travers knows what Lyra experienced with Allison Morris. The journalists Suzanne Breen, Kathryn Johnston, Hugh Jordan, and Tina Calder know as well. Lyra confided in many others as well, some of who are in politics in Belfast. Sometimes Lyra would be very upset about it all and she would ring Anthony and Carrie McIntyre and other friends as well in tears. People might think Allison Morris is a nice person when they see her on TV, but she has a dark side for some not in her clique that looks to be motivated by jealousy as Lyra and others know to their cost.

This all brings me to the experience of another young journalist. The announcement of the founding of Women in Media Belfast was made on 10 February. Later on in that week there was sinister graffiti that appeared in a loyalist area about Sunday World journalist Trish Devlin.

Women in Media Belfast had plenty to say about other things after that happened but they didn't say a word about Trish. She went and challenged their silence on Twitter.

Last week, my name was spray painted on 3 walls with gun crosshairs. I have received six threats from paramilitaries including one to my newborn son in just over a year. I haven't heard from you. Do u represent women in the media under threat here? Why has this group been selective in who they offer support to? Are you not supposed to represent all women in the media or is it just some? How do I go about getting that support? - (was what she wrote).

She got a reply which was like something out of the school playground, not what you would expect from serious women journalists. It led the scales to fall off the eyes of many people on Twitter about this Women in Media Belfast group. Trish is not seen as part of their girl gang. But that is a good thing for her because as other people have said it is a big ego trip that has been tarted up as a serious campaigning group.

Trish's friend Sunday World fellow journalist Hugh Jordan also went and challenged her exclusion on Facebook. Daily Mirror journalist Jilly Beattie agreed as well.

I would have imagined these horrific threats towards a woman in media in Belfast would have been an ideal matter for Women in Media Belfast to highlight to amplify the voice of a woman working in print as their mission statement claims (was what she wrote).
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Thank goodness that there are some genuine women journalists in local media who are ready to stand up for others like this.

It is not a secret that Trish Devlin has not had a good experience of Allison Morris in the media. Lyra McKee was definitely not alone in such a department. Maybe after the social media reaction against Women in Media Belfast, they will be shamed into doing something on supporting Trish.

They are hosting a conference online on International Women's Day but for all the reasons that I have written about above I believe that this group should be better ignored. Maybe women who are planning on taking part in this group's events could ask themselves a few questions.

Why did this group not support Trish Devlin from the start with the serious threat that she is under? Why did Lyra McKee who was a lovely person that everyone who ever met her loved go to police and make a complaint about bullying nastiness by Allison Morris?

Maybe some of local newspapers that wrote so much about Lyra McKee after she was murdered could look into this or others in the media could. It would be really wrong if they don't do that and ignore it.

Media Mean Girl Allison Morris


You’ve heard of show trials. This was a show investigation, an attempt to embarrass Adams and his party, not hold him responsible for a brutal murder committed 43 years ago – Kevin Cullen, The Boston Globe


It had been predicted in print for months as imminent. Yet it was only on Tuesday of this week, a year and a half after Gerry Adams was detained for four days by British police as a murder suspect, that the British Public Prosecution Service in the North announced it would not pursue him as a result of his alleged role in the fate of Jean McConville.






When Allison Morris of the Irish News tweeted on Monday evening that the PPS would be announcing its decision the following day there was, on my part, the customary anticipation and apprehension: the old Bobby Storeys, so to speak, in the stomach. The outworking of the Boston College project had been anything but stress-free. News was more often bad than good. 

Although the Irish News had delivered some wide off the mark reports on the Boston College case, specifically in relation to the late Paddy Joe Rice and also, according to Ed Moloney, Winston Rea, there was no reason to think Morris had called this one wrong. Even when she quickly withdrew her tweets, the general view from the Twitterati was that a source in the PPS might have been displeased that an embargo had not been observed.

In any event the cat was out of the bag and the commentariat began preparing itself for a feast of debate, banter, charge, counter-charge, not all of it lacking in sizeable dollops of the bragging rights that invariably accompany these things. On the back of the Morris tweets, messages began to arrive in my various inboxes predicting a front page splash in the Irish News the following day. Whatever the reason it was not to be. We had to wait until the PPS press conference before the details were disclosed in full. In terms of prosecution they amounted to zilch.

The arrest of Gerry Adams was never about justice for Jean McConville or getting to the truth. The twinned concept of justice and truth is not something the PSNI has been remotely interested in, consistently seeking to thwart both the constituent elements as it systematically stalled and stymied in its cover up of state terrorism.

Kevin Cullen put it bluntly in the Boston Globe: ‘there was never any realistic prospect of Adams being charged.’ The case against him was never evidentially driven and with Tuesday's announcement we now know it was based on nothing more substantial than hearsay.

Hearsay being the criterion on which the decision to arrest Adams was made begs the question of why now and not before? The British police, whether called the PSNI or RUC, could have hauled him in on any amount of it over the years. It was not that they lacked a high ranking plant or two close to Adams feeding them copious quantities of what constitutes hearsay about illegalities.

Moreover, numerous books and countless media articles, hearsay no less, have been written about Adams for decades. No attempt was made to prosecute him, not even on the strength of what appeared in Ed Moloney’s A Secret History of the IRA which traced in considerable detail his role in the Provisional IRA from its inception and also dealt with the matter of Jean McConville. The PSNI followed hearsay only when it suited its agenda, not in pursuit of justice or truth.

A slight digression might help contextualise what that agenda was.

In 1983 the British police had a substantially stronger case against the then Sinn Fein vice president than it could ever hope to obtain from the Boston College archive. It came courtesy of information provided by a super grass but the RUC opted to arrest people against whom there was lesser evidence. The reasoning then was rooted in a much wider game plan than due process. The police, driven by political considerations rather than evidential ones, were cultivating an asset (radically different from an agent) and clearing the field so that their strategic seeds alone would take root and sprout: someone who would deliver what the Provisionals then regarded as a catastrophic systemic failure of their armed campaign.

One person who closely scrutinised the era and had also spoken to people in the British security services told myself and Ed Moloney in London in 2006 that the decision to keep Adams out of jail in 1983 and put others into it was considered by British security services the defining moment in the British state securing victory over the Provisional IRA. The balance of power at IRA leadership level had shifted crucially. Adams had the initiative and was never to cede it despite some future wobbles along the way.

Adams was not working for the British but his work and their work had the same objective, the same British state outcome: bringing the IRA to acquiesce in the "no change in the constitutional position without the support of a majority of people in the north."

If seemingly keeping Adams out of jail rather than putting him in it had driven British strategy for so long what then was the point of raiding the Boston College archive so shortly after British Secretary of State Owen Paterson had recommended that type of archive as a template for truth recovery? 

Kevin Cullen in a piece that was scathing of the PSNI raid on the Boston College archive described it as:
a cynical, transparent attempt at payback ... going after Adams was always going to be what it seemed from the outset: politically motivated.

This is certainly a thread but is unlikely to have formed the main strand in a tapestry of motives. There is noting new in the desire for payback; the PSNI has always been a politically driven police force. Something else had to have changed, a new ingredient had found its way into the mix.

From the outset of the Boston College subpoena case the thought had struck me that the primary reason for going after both the archive and Adams was rooted in the problems increasingly posed in respect of the past. What Eamonn McCann observed two days ago, "the reason the past cannot be dealt with is that it isn’t over", was becoming self evident when the British Labour Party was still in office and had its roots in proposals around OTRs.

Sinn Fein was quite prepared through its endorsement of the OTR legislation to put the past to rest. The BBC reported that the party:
initially welcomed it, but now realise it will not only give an amnesty to IRA members but also to any soldiers or police officers who committed murder during 30 years of violence.

Sinn Fein always realised that, hence the view expressed by Martin McGuinness to Jonathan Powell that for Bloody Sunday an apology would have been quite sufficient. It was when everybody else realised just what Sinn Fein had agreed to that the party balked.

An apology would now no longer suffice. With increased vigour Sinn Fein began pressing for prosecution of state forces, thinking that the only way prosecution could now happen was solely on the basis of state files that would damn the Brits alone. And of course the Brits sought to play the party at its own game and bring into the open through sabotage and seizure records that might prove damaging to Sinn Fein if it did not let up in its new found prosecutorial zeal. Previously, police cells were something to house people like Gerry McGeough not Gerry Adams. In their search for leverage in the battle over the past the British attitude would change.

The outcome was as Cullen argued:
a needless misadventure that damaged the reputation of a great American university, put the whole notion of oral history at risk, destabilized the peace and political process, and perhaps worst of all, gave Jean McConville’s children the false hope that the man they believe ordered their mother’s murder would finally be held accountable.

Pursuing Adams was about managing the past, a trade off in which each side would shut up about the other. It was about burying truth not recovering it.

Nolle Prosequi

This article is in response to an article by Irish News Editor Noel Doran that featured on Letters Blogatory.

It was pleasing, if hardly intellectually stimulating, to find Noel Doran at last do something other than use the threat of legal coercion to silence voices he takes umbrage at. However, it has hardly gone unnoticed that he concluded his piece with a call for a robust piece of writing to be suppressed. I will not wait to the end of this current piece to tell him that is not going to happen. The article by Paul Campbell stays in place, and if wasting time suits him, Noel Doran can have a censor lawyer use up a paper mill churning out threatening letters by the tonne.

The Goose, the Gander, and the Irish News: Response to Noel Doran

Today The Pensive Quill carries correspondence between NUJ Member-for-life Ed Moloney and Irish News Editor Noel Doran that previously featured on The Broken Elbow.
Scroll down for updated (October 3) correspondence

Noel Doran Declines Right To Reply In Allison Morris Scandal
Ed Moloney
September 30, 2013

Noel Doran Declines Right To Reply In Allison Morris Scandal - with updated correspondence

Irish News NUJ Chapel Rule 24 Complaint against Belfast & District branch member Anthony McIntyre on behalf of Allison Morris 

The Irish News NUJ Chapel have followed up their complaint on behalf of Allison Morris with more details.

Their enlarged complaint is carried here as it was submitted to the Belfast and District Branch on Thursday, 26 September, 2013, in its entirety.






The Irish News NUJ Chapel here sets out its Rule 24 complaint against Belfast & District branch member Anthony McIntyre.


Rule 24
Discipline, reads as follows:

(a) If after due inquiry, in accordance with the procedures and time constraints laid down in Appendix C, the NEC is of the opinion that a member has been guilty of conduct which is detrimental to the interests of the union or of the profession of journalism, or is in breach of the union’s code of conduct or membership responsibilities…

The chapel believes that Anthony McIntyre is in breach of the NUJ Rule Book, specifically Membership Responsibilities, (b) (i) under which members are expected “to treat other members of the union and union staff, with consideration and respect and not to take action which threaten their livelihood or working conditions”.

We also contend that he has been and continues to be `guilty of conduct which is detrimental to the interests of the union or of the profession of journalism…’.

Mr McIntyre has not made any attempt to substantiate his claims, either by contact with Ms Morris, the news desk, or the editor of The Irish News.

He has urged others to disseminate his false claims. Indeed his articles have been posted on extreme loyalist websites and social media with links to the UVF, including the PUP website, Ulster News, `Loyalist Banter’ Facebook, and `Loyalist Peaceful Protest Updater’ Facebook.

The article published by him on the Pensive Quill which appeared under the by-line of Paul Campbell implicitly linked Ms Morris with dissident republicans.

Working as a security correspondent in Northern Ireland where rival sectarian groups are still very much in existence, this clearly puts her safety and that of her family in danger from loyalist.

Mr McIntyre has been wilfully dismissive about the genuine threats to her life which she has received and have been documented and verified by the PSNI. He made no attempt to establish the veracity of his claims before publishing allegations that they did not exist.

In addition, he has continuously attacked Ms Morris’s character and her professional reputation.

This member has stepped up his campaign from publishing an article about Ms Morris to writing a series of vitriolic pieces about her.

The Irish News Chapel contends that in terms of ‘consideration and respect’, he has shown none of those qualities towards fellow member and working journalist Ms Morris.

Further, by instigating a climate of criticism of her professionalism and working practices through his libellous claims, this member has threatened her livelihood and working conditions.

Like all journalists she relies on her reputation and it is one which she has scrupulously protected during her working life. As you will see from the nature and wording used in Mr McIntyre’s posts, the member’s clear aim is to render her unemployable.

In addition, the scurrilous claims about her working practices open her up to the very real fear of death threats which have already forced her to take time off work - adversely affecting her career and potentially the ability to provide for her family.

We include a number of examples of the defamatory and/or abusive comments which Mr McIntyre has written or published about Ms Morris.

·        From `What Price Justice’ (sic), August 4:

“While she, like many others, will find it difficult to believe what flows from her pen, I will hardly complain to the Ethics Council about it or lift the phone to a libel lawyer in a bid to silence her. I will, however, write what I like and call things as I see them.

“Or does she just lie to everyone, whenever and wherever it suits her at any given moment?”

“Can anyone believe anything Allison Morris writes anymore?”

Mr McIntyre is accusing Ms Morris of repeatedly peddling falsehoods - comments seriously damaging to a journalist’s reputation and hence her livelihood.

It is also detrimental to the profession of journalism to starkly state `I will, however, write what I like and call things as I see them.’

No call or other contact was ever made to Ms Morris to check the veracity of any articles before publication. The chapel contend that this shows that the member clearly has no interest in whether what he writes is fair or accurate – the cornerstone of good journalistic practice promoted by the NUJ.

In fact it is clear that he wilfully ignores the basics of journalism such as checking facts and abiding by libel laws.

The abusive and libellous remarks about Ms Morris’s working practices continue in a series of articles.


·       From `The Weird World of an Irish News Journalist’ [by `Paul Campbell’], August 7

Our contention is that `Paul Campbell’ is merely a pseudonym for Mr McIntyre himself, a practice which he explicitly condemned in his previous publication `The Blanket’.

One of those named in the article has confirmed to two separate people within the Irish News that he only spoke to Mr McIntyre about this matter and has never heard of `Paul Campbell’.

We can supply witness statements confirming the conversations if the union wishes.

We believe that this practice of publishing this malicious article under a false name is in itself both contrary to members responsibilities – all our working chapel members must stand squarely behind what we publish under our by-lines, ensuring we are held to the basic standards of fairness and accuracy.
This practice is clearly detrimental to the interests of the union and the profession of journalism.

However, the content itself, which Mr McIntyre has again published, is damaging and defamatory.

“Irish News journalist Allison Morris is some chancer. While having a brass neck is no bad thing for a journalist, Allison’s professional practices would make even the most unscrupulous tabloid hack blush.

“The Irish News’ journalist hardly covered herself in glory when she interviewed Dolours Price at a time when Price was undergoing psychiatric care at a Dublin hospital. Allison refused the family’s request to end the interview because of Dolours’ medical condition.

“The family then spoke to Irish News management. When the newspaper reached an agreement with them   –  understandably excercising caution in how it treated the story and only printing parts of it  –  Allison took the tapes/story to her friend and former Andersonstown News colleague, Ciaran Barnes of the Sunday Life, who published an unrestrained account.

“As both a journalist and a human being, this was hardly an example of ethical behaviour. Allison’s actions ended up setting in motion the whole Boston College saga which has seriously damaged source protection and oral history.

“But the Irish News journalist learned no lesson from it all and has continued in her own inimitable bulldozing style.

“After her journalistic practices previously drew criticism on The Pensive Quill, Allison went to the NUJ with a seemingly wholly made up claim that the criticism had placed her life in danger from dissident republicans.

“She produced no proof of this whatsoever. Indeed, the claim was so baseless that it was laughable. While Allison was claiming grave threats to her life, anyone taking an even cursory glance at the Irish News could see she was in no danger.

“She was interviewing both grassroots and senior dissident republicans and she was on the ground covering dissident republican riots and protests. No-one was refusing to talk to her, let alone threatening her life. Allison’s actions led the NUJ to initially suspend Anthony McIntyre.”

We contend its entire content and tone fails to treat Ms Morris with consideration and respect and clearly threatens her livelihood and working conditions.


Ms Morris did receive verbal abuse and threats from republicans while out covering stories.

She has also lost contacts as a consequence of his false claims – people were refusing to talk to her, contrary to his speculative claim - which obviously has an impact on her livelihood.

The allegations about her interview with republican icon Dolours Price can only be designed to drive a wedge between Ms Morris and her republican contacts.

Mr McIntyre at no stage contacted Ms Morris or the Irish News to establish the facts of the matter.

These are that Dolours Price contacted the Irish News newsdesk to request an interview with the paper, which the newsdesk sent Ms Morris, as the main security reporter, to carry out.

We can supply witness statements to verify this.

Neither Ms Morris not the Irish News has ever received a complaint from the late Dolours Price or her family about the article, nor was any claim submitted to the Press Complaints Commission.

Ms Price subsequently participated in interviews with other outlets about this subject, which we contend illustrates her willingness to talk about the matter. Mr McIntyre has not singled out journalists from CBS, The Sunday Telegraph, or The Daily Mail for such scurrilous allegations.

However, he repeatedly displays a lack of consideration and respect towards Ms Morris and threatens her livelihood and working conditions by trying to damage her reputation.

Mr McIntyre is famous as an opponent of the Good Friday Agreement and as such his blog is read by dissident republicans, among others.

He is also well aware that loyalists both read and contribute to his blog and has links with a loyalist blog as detailed above.

We wish to point out that Ms Morris did not claim that her life had been under threat from dissident republicans. She has made it known – and has been verified by police and accepted by the NUJ - that she had been under death threat from loyalists.

This was not a “baseless” or a “wholly made up claim”. The Irish News Chapel, which has supported her during this difficult time, do not find the threat to the life of one of our colleagues “laughable”.

We contend that as a former republican prisoner and opponent of the Good Friday Agreement, Mr McIntyre is also well aware that publishing an article which described Ms Morris as `The PSNI’s favourite journalist’ put her life in danger from paramilitary elements, both loyalist and republican.

It is injurious to her safety and reputation as a reporter on security stories in northern Ireland to imply that she will betray sources to the police especially when such sources may have well-documented violent tendencies.

·       From `I have a right to be angry’, August 9 (written by Mr McIntyre’s wife and published by him with a standfirst we can only conclude was written by the Pensive Quill’s editor, the member himself):

Carrie Twomey explains how it is for a mother of two young children to bear the brunt of what she regards as a malicious agenda designed to mask unethical journalistic practice.

“I am angry as fuck that the subpoenas are a direct result of the pathetic and petty ambitions of Allison Morris who thought she could compete with the likes of journalist Ed Moloney and attempted to scoop what she thought was a story of his by giving her interview tapes to Ciaran Barnes and setting the whole Boston College nightmare in motion.”

A selection of choice phrases from this piece, which display absolutely no `consideration and respect’ to Ms Morris, include:

THAT COMPLETE WANKER ALLISON MORRIS

the bullshit of Allison Morris

 Allison Morris's bullshit

 “I am angry that the incompetent idiots at the bastion of journalistic wankerdom - the Ethics Council of the NUJ - hadn't a brain cell to rub against anything to spark the sense to toss her harassing complaint at the start.”

 We contend that the NUJ membership responsibilities preclude publishing material describing any one, never mind another member, in such terms.

We wish to stress at this stage that Ms Morris has never engaged with the member or his wife, but has continued to do her job in a professional manner and conduct herself as befits an NUJ member.

The chapel complaint relates to Ms Morris alone, she cannot bear responsibility for the conduct of others and does not because she does not act as a publisher in any way.

Further, it is clearly `detrimental to the interests of the union’ for Mr McIntyre to describe the Ethics Council of the NUJ in such terms.

The tirade continued from Carrie Twomey:

“I am angry that in the middle of the fight of our lives, a landmark fight for source protection, confidentiality and free speech, this ... woman... who boasts about what a great example of journalistic integrity she is, launched a complaint to discredit Anthony, and to add to the stress we're under in order to break him.”

The chapel supports Ms Morris as our member is merely trying to protect herself from continued libels and abuse and preserve her reputation.

She is not and has not been following `a malicious agenda’ or engaging in `unethical journalistic practice’. These are baseless accusations and it should again be noted that neither Ms Morris nor the chapel has written anything about Mr McIntyre or Carrie Twomey to prompt such personal abuse.

To make such claims about a journalist is clearly intended to do damage to her reputation and threaten her livelihood and working conditions by making people reluctant to talk to her or threaten violence towards her.

The abuse published by Mr McIntyre continues:

 the malicious, lying viper she is

 I am DONE with sucking it up. FUCK HER and the horse she rode in on!

Again, there is clearly no consideration and respect in publishing such remarks about another member.

The vitriol increased from Mr McIntyre and Carrie Twomey days later:

From `Are you being gagged?’, August 12:

“Today while in a second hand bookshop I was contacted by a solicitor in Belfast to inform me that Morris was looking my home address. Unlike Morris, he has an ethics based approach to his profession and just does not hand clients’ addresses out willy nilly to any chancer that comes along seeking them.”

The chapel contends that the line about `an ethics based approach’ is another blatant attack on Ms Morris’s integrity, as is calling her a `chancer’.

“Whichever threatening letter arrives first, as it duly shall, you can see it posted on this blog or on another if the censors manage to close this one down. The freedom to write will not only be defended but vigorously asserted whatever the odds. Allison Morris will become a byword for censorship. And if prison is the going rate to achieve that it will be a price well worth paying. In this case silence is not a commodity that money can buy.”

Again, to claim that `Allison Morris will become a byword for censorship’ is another attack on her journalistic integrity, which threatens her livelihood. She has a right to complain about libellous remarks directed at her.


·       In a comment about this, from Carrie Twomey at 4:43 PM, August 13, 2013 Reply
From Carrie Twomey

“All either Barnes or Morris, or indeed anyone who has a problem or concern with The Pensive Quill, need do is contact Anthony to discuss it – as was shown when Kevin Cooper initially contacted him over a year ago about Allison’s concerns. Even the Appeals Tribunal grasped this – no attempt at conciliation whatsoever was made before going for the nuclear option. Now it appears the only objective for them all along was to secure headlines to discredit Anthony in the middle of the Boston College fight rather than because of any real sense of grievance.

“We never respond well to legal threats, whether it is from Editors such as Noel Doran, who first threatened Anthony with legal action on behalf of Allison over a year ago, or should it be whatever libel lawyer chooses to act on her behalf now (I wonder if the Irish News is footing her bill?). I do not think many people would respond favourably to legal threats, especially if that is the first entreaty made, which in Allison’s case, apart from the informal NUJ approach which saw her request granted, has been the only form of entreaty made – legal threats or being hauled before Ethics Councils. Of all things!

“Compounded with the bullshit she has spread to further her legal threats and sanctions, and the utter disdain displayed by choosing a football match over attendance at the hearing of her own complaint, is it any wonder her position is viewed with utter amazement - the sheer brass neck of it all? Just who exactly does she think she is?

“After dragging Anthony through that farce of the NUJ complaint, securing the headlines in the middle of the BC case, not bothering to show up in London, and now seeminly siccing her lawyers on us, any sympathy I may have had for her feelings being hurt is long spent. Seriously, fuck her. She’s no interest in resolving anything. Unless there’s some other agenda fueling her actions, she just wants to escape condemnation for being the asshole she is. Well, that ain’t gonna happen as long as she continues to act like an asshole.”


Regarding the suggestion that “All either Barnes or Morris, or indeed anyone who has a problem or concern with The Pensive Quill, need do is contact Anthony to discuss it – as was shown when Kevin Cooper initially contacted him over a year ago about Allison’s concerns.”

The Irish News contacted Mr McIntyre to express its concerns about the earlier libel on Ms Morris.

Mr McIntyre was extremely reluctant to remove the offending article and took quite some time to do so – even after the original host site had removed it. It was the Irish News Chapel who contacted the branch which triggered the involvement of Mr Cooper and Mr McIntyre has indicated in correspondence that the removal of the offending article was being done with extremely bad grace.

In an email sent to Irish News editor Noel Doran on May 29, 2012, which Mr McIntyre has published on his own website’s `wiki dump’, he wrote:

“Given his financial situation, Mark is in no position to engage in a protacted legal battle. He has removed the piece from his website due to the threat of legal action from your representatives, and he has requested that we also remove his article. As such, we have obliged Mark by removing his article from the blog, and we trust that should resolve your concerns.

“However, we do so in reliance upon your undertaking not to wax triumphal by publishing the removal of the article from our site in the pages of the Irish News, or causing that fact to be published anywhere else. If that happens, we will be compelled to defend robustly our original publication, which would only serve to defeat the object of your threat of legal proceedings.”

It is factually inaccurate to claim that “no attempt at conciliation whatsoever was made before going for the nuclear option”.


We are happy to provide witness statements confirming that both parties were left together for an hour-long discussion between Allison and Mr McIntyre on the day of the hearing in Belfast, during which she repeatedly asked him to publicise on his website Ed Moloney’s affidavit re his March 2010 interview of Dolours Price, an interview conducted around the same time as Allison had interviewed Dolours Price. Mr McIntyre absolutely refused to publicise this affidavit.

We believe this is because it would fatally undermine the claimed justification of Mr McIntyre’s vociferous condemnation of Ms Morris for interviewing Dolours Price in the full knowledge that his friend and colleague Mr Moloney also interviewed her shortly afterwards.

In short, it would expose his hypocrisy and the sand on which his entire campaign of harassment has been built.

We have supplied said affidavit for your information.


ED MOLONEY’S AFFIDAVIT:

Case 1:11-mc-91078-RGS Document 5-5 Filed 06/07/11 Page 11 of 16
 
- 12 -35. In or around March 2010, I re-interviewed Dolours Price, giving her, orally, thesame assurances of confidentiality that had applied to her earlier interviews with AnthonyMcIntyre, and telling her that the interviews would be stored at Boston College under the sameterms of confidentiality that had applied to those earlier interviews. I always understood thatadditional material could be added to interviewees’ files and that they would also be covered bythe original confidentiality agreements. I then passed these interview materials to Robert O’Neillat the Burns Library, with instructions to lodge them in her file. He accepted the materials.Signed under the pains and penalties of perjury.Dated: June 2, 2011 /s/ Ed MoloneyEd Moloney
Case 1:11-mc-91078-RGS Document 5-5 Filed 06/07/11 Page 12 of 16


The chapel contends that it is both ludicrous and offensive to suggest that “the only objective for them all along was to secure headlines to discredit Anthony in the middle of the Boston College fight rather than because of any real sense of grievance.”

We again point out that Ms Morris has not written anything about the other member, Mr McIntyre. As has been detailed to this point, her sense of grievance about his behaviour is very real and endorsed by her chapel colleagues who unanimously backed a motion supporting her and instigating this complaint.

His attempts to portray her as the aggressor in this dispute fly in the face of the facts and are intended to lower her reputation as a journalist, which would threaten her livelihood and working conditions.

Mr McIntyre continues to push his claims about how Allison treated the Dolours Price story.

From `True to their Words’ comments, August 14:
By AM [clearly Anthony McIntyre]

“And some reporters extract information, when apparently told by family members the interviewee is unwell and incapable of giving an interview. Yet they go and print parts of that interview. But seem to hold back parts for fear of being sued? "Who Knows?". Then the interview apparently ends up in another newspaper 3 days later.”


It has been made clear to Mr McIntyre that his version of events is incorrect and he has no proof for his claims, yet he continues to denigrate Allison’s working practices and those of The Irish News, which has more than 80 per cent union membership.

·        Mr McIntyre’s articles which are detrimental to the profession of journalism have continued to be published since the submission of our complaint to the Branch:

From `Invertebrate Journalism’, August 30:

“The kiss-up kick-down ethic seems to have considerable purchase within that particular chapel of the NUJ.

 “I no more have to respect Allison Morris than she has to respect me. Unlike the supine NUJ chapel at the Irish News, I don’t happen to think that is some sort of journalistic crime for which a member of the union should be sanctioned. Then again my views on ethics and those of the people at the Irish News would seem to be radically different and now seem to clash frequently enough. While I have a consistent ‘put up with’ attitude to its views they seem to take a ‘shut up’ response to mine. Not a very rewarding experience trying to shut me up.”

Contrary to Mr McIntyre’s stated position, the NUJ rulebook states that `members are expected to treat other members of the union and union staff, with consideration and respect…’

Again in that article this member denigrates The Irish News chapel:

“Not only has the Irish News chapel prostrated itself before the Ethics Council it has also exhibited bovine conformity to what it thinks the editor/bishop wants, leading me to suspect that the virus of co-option has been cause for rejoicing rather than resisting. Just as under a regime of old style corporatism, the chapel has been co-opted into the church of the management.”

He then includes a graphic with the text: `Management? All the way. Supine every day. The Irish News. NUJ Chapel.

Then he writes:

“Is the invertebrate NUJ chapel at the paper so devoid of autonomous standing that it can think of nothing more progressive than tugging the forelock to management? Is it incapable of conceiving of anything more radical than slavishly exercising its self induced powerlessness against the journalist protecting sources and not against those who endanger them?”

AM then comments re this article on September 2:

“when you talk of comradeship in the NUJ, the chapel at the Irish News immediately thinks ‘comrade editor.’ It is a characteristic best encapsulated in the UDM attitude of yes, yes, yes Ian MacGregor, no, no, no Arthur Scargill.”

From `Reporting to London’, September 2, Mr McIntyre conjures up a conspiracy theory:

“Perhaps it is just my imagination but am I wrong to sniff the scent of collusion between the actions of the NUJ chapel at the Irish News who tattled to Dear Sarah, and the ‘former director of publicity for Sinn Fein’ who also went a-squealing to her? Both letters were written on the same day; the former publicity director's in the morning followed by the chapel's a few hours later. Both were eager to point out to Sarah how I had said ghastly things about either her or the Ethics Council. And both praised the same council for having taken action against me. Coordination, collaboration, or coincidence?”

The Irish News Chapel can confirm that, as he suspected, this is just his imagination. He is welcome to question Danny Morrison about any contact with The Irish News chapel over this matter. We have not contacted him on this matter and have no plans to do so.

He continues to make things up about what the Irish News Chapel is doing and to show no respect to fellow members of the NUJ:

From 2nd NUJ Complaint Filed: As Sure As Day Follows Night, September 10:

“In true journalistic fashion the underhand attempts at imposing censorship from the obsequious NUJ chapel at the Irish News will be shared with our readers.”

* The Irish News chapel was following NUJ procedures in contacting the Branch Secretary.
As FOC, Mr Archer was chosen to be the chapel’s designated representative as required in the rules. He enjoys the full support and confidence of Ms Morris and all members who have endorsed this action.
Mr Doran is not a member of the chapel and has had no part in the chapel’s complaint.

AM says:
6:58 AM, September 11, 2013 Reply

Don't expect the chapel there to know too much about anything. Its aspiration to intellectual greatness is learning to say 'yes Noel' in 12 different languages.

We wish to draw the NUJ’s attention to this message on Mr McIntyre’s own site:

• Libelous comments will not be published. Do not abuse the Anonymous facility or your posts will no longer be published

The chapel contends that this message, along with Mr McIntyre’s long membership of the NUJ, including a stint on the Ethics Council, shows that the member is fully aware of his responsibilities and is not merely mistakenly writing and publishing what can perhaps best be described as bile. Indeed he is doing this in full awareness of what is expected from those who enjoy the privileges that come with membership of the NUJ.

In conclusion, much of the content in his series of articles about Allison Morris and The Irish News is in breach of the NUJ’s membership responsibilities and detrimental to the interests of the union and the profession of journalism.




Irish News NUJ Chapel Rule 24 Complaint


Do you find yourself thinking bad thoughts about the Irish News? Are you tempted to write those bad thoughts down? Given the Irish News' habit of suing its uppity readers, you should not do so unprepared! You need the DIY Irish News Critic Kit!

Anyone who criticises or questions the Irish News and their reporters knows it's only a matter of time before a solicitor's letter from Johnsons arrives at the door. Now YOU can pre-empt that action by filling out your OWN letter at the same time you write your bad thoughts with this standard template!

Armed with your own pre-prepared threatening letter already formatted and ready to go, you can let the Irish News know you've already got a letter from Johnsons for thinking bad thoughts about them. Whether you send it to yourself or the Irish News sends it to you, the result is the same!

Thinking bad thoughts and ready to write them down? ACT NOW!

Just fill in the relevant details and you're ready to go!



LC/0070000730

*INSERT DATE HERE*

PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL – NOT FOR PUBLICATION

*INSERT NAME & ADDRESS HERE*

Dear Sir/Madam [delete as necessary],

RE: OUR CLIENT – ALLISON MORRIS

We have been instructed by Allison Morris, a leading and highly respected senior staff journalist with the Irish News in respect of false, defamatory, and harassing material which you have published on a website entitled “*insert website name here*” which can be located at the following link (“the website”):

*INSERT WEBSITE ADDRESS HERE*

*INSERT ALLEGATIONS HERE* (2 paragraph limit recommended) - ensure use of following phrases or similar as a minimum: "highly defamatory" "motivated by malice" "falsely state that our client behaved in an unprofessional and dishonest manner" "reckless allegations could endanger her personal security."

As the author and publisher of these allegations you are liable, along with the Internet Service Provider, for the resulting damage to our client’s reputation. Now that you are on notice of the defamatory and abusive material you are publishing, we require you to:

1. Immediately and permanently delete the defamatory and abusive content from your server, and effect the removal of any reference to our client on the website;

2. Immediately provide your undertaking in writing not to allow the same or similar allegations contained on the website to be cached or otherwise stored in any way.

*CONSIDER ADDITIONAL PARA HERE* (A mention of Editor Noel Doran in this section to give added gravitas would not go amiss)

In these circumstances, pending confirmation of the above, we reserve all of our client’s rights, including the right to issue legal proceedings against you in support of a claim for substantial damages.

We look forward to hearing from you as a matter of urgency.

Yours faithfully,

JOHNSONS


Do-It-Yourself Irish News Critic Kit



Tell The Irish News Hands Off The Internet

We have reason to believe that efforts are being made to close The Pensive Quill website down.

We host no illegal content, we are breaching no law in the United States (where the site is hosted), and, as has been well documented, there is absolutely no legitimate reason for such a pursuit. Any effort to close The Pensive Quill website is politically and/or personally motivated, by those seeking to hide their unethical behaviour. These actions are pursued by the Irish News and its reporter and associates.

We are therefore seeking to create mirror sites, and additionally, we invite third parties to mirror our site in its entirety. We invite those third parties, outside of the UK and Ireland, who can offer support, to contact us directly.

Any effort to prevent the disclosure of the Irish News’ willful and ill-advised pursuit of The Pensive Quill in order to cover-up the unethical behaviour of its reporter cannot, and will not, be allowed to succeed.

These legal tactics and letters are issued like confetti in order to police the web and the media behind the scenes; the sad fact is many outlets and individuals are intimidated into silence and comply, which enables the success of censorship. The wider public is not aware of this as the fear of being sued and dragged through court keeps people silent.

We are not going silently into the night over this, and in exposing what the Irish News and its reporter are doing here, we hope that it lifts the lid on the prevalent scare tactics employed and frees up discussion on their use across Ireland north and south.

We also intend by taking a stand against this to demonstrate that refusing to comply with the demands of censors weakens the power of the bully. Much like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, we intend on pulling the curtain back to demonstrate the Wizard has no more power than what is freely given to him. We refuse to give any censor power over us.

We will not be intimidated into silence.

Thank you

THE PENSIVE QUILL


Action Request

Please stand up against the Irish News' attempt to police the internet and suppress freedom of speech. Reproduce these articles across the web:

NUJ Wiki Dump

NUJ Vindicates Boston College Researcher

What Price Justice

The Weird World of an Irish News Journalist

I Have a Right to be Angry

Are you being Gagged?

True to Their Words

Invertebrate Journalism

Reporting to London

Not Censored by the Irish News

2nd NUJ Complaint Filed: As Sure As Day Follows Night

Do-It-Yourself Irish News Critic Kit

Irish News NUJ Chapel Rule 24 Complaint

Anthony McIntyre Response to Irish News NUJ Chapel Complaint on Behalf of Allison Morris




Background

We believe the origins of the first subpoena of the Boston College Belfast Project Oral History Archives were set in motion by Irish News reporter Allison Morris, who conducted an interview with former IRA volunteer Dolours Price. Dolours was heavily medicated and being treated for a variety of ills at the time. Her family objected to the interview and requested it not be published. The Irish News restricted what they published. However, 3 days after the Irish News story ran, a friend and colleague of Morris’ at the Sunday Life tabloid, Ciaran Barnes, ran a front page spread containing everything the Irish News left out.

In Ciaran Barnes’ report, he implied that he had heard Dolours Price’s Boston College tapes. US Attorney Carmen Ortiz's office subsequently submitted both Morris and Barnes’ stories as evidence to justify the first subpoena. Barnes never had access to the Boston College tapes and we believe it was Morris’ interview he based his report on. The PSNI did not seek Morris’ notes or records until after it was pointed out in court documents that they had never approached her or Barnes, 16 months after the original publication of her interview. She and the Irish News told the PSNI they retained no material; the PSNI accepted this and did not pursue the matter further.

Barnes and Morris brought a Code of Conduct complaint against Anthony McIntyre in their union, the National Union of Journalists. The NUJ’s Ethics Council railroaded the complaint against McIntyre and suspended him for 6 months. He appealed this and the NUJ Appeals Tribunal tossed everything out, completely vindicating him.

Neither Morris nor Barnes attended the appeal hearing, suggesting that the objective all along was to discredit him in the middle of the source protection/1st and 4th Amendment battle to protect the confidentiality of the oral history archives against government incursion, adding stress and pressure in an attempt to break him.

Immediately following the Ethics Council verdict being over-turned, Morris attempted to re-try her complaint on a legal blog, and was caught in an astounding lie. The Pensive Quill documented this and other questionable behavior around the Irish News and its reporter Allison Morris. The Irish News’ Editor Noel Doran began to contact The Pensive Quill in an obvious attempt to lay groundwork for a legal case. A solicitor’s letter from Johnsons then arrived demanding that The Pensive Quill remove all its material about Allison Morris.


With thanks to The Expendable Project for the wording used in the clarion call for action - their request for mirror sites was used as a template.



Stand Up Against The Irish News Censorship of The Pensive Quill

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