Irish News representatives briefed Lady Sylvia Hermon and Lord Laird of
Artigarvan before the leading unionists launched their campaign to block
government funding for the Andersonstown News and its sister paper Lá.
At confidential meetings in London last June, the Irish News told Lady
Hermon and her UUP colleague Lord Laird that they were opposed to government
funding for the Andersonstown News Group's proposed new daily newspaper,
Daily Ireland.
Following that meeting, Lady Hermon called for all funding for the
Andersonstown News Group to be blocked because of this newspaper's
pro-nationalist stance.
Lord Laird, meanwhile, said funding would disadvantage "the Irish News, for
which I have a high regard."
A public meeting in West Belfast on Tuesday night heard that our Irish
language sister paper Lá faced closure if monies due to its Donegal office,
which has been operating since June under a contract with the European
programme INTERREG, weren't released.
Two members of Lá last week lost their jobs as the funds crisis bit and
publication of the paper has been cut back to four days per week.
Irish News Chief Executive Dominic Fitzpatrick and press relations
consultant Tom Kelly of Stakeholder Communications Limited - who also serves
on the Policing Board - made up the Irish News deputation which briefed
unionists.
"Though the Irish News received significant government grant-aid right
up to 1997, they're on record as opposing similar grant-aid to our
newspapers in the jobs blackspot of West Belfast," said Andersonstown News
Group spokesman Máirtín Ó Muilleoir.
"That's notwithstanding the fact that this paper group raised no protest
when the Irish News, the Belfast Telegraph and other newspapers received,
between them, millions of pounds of grant-aid to which they were entitled."
Lady Sylvia Hermon was yesterday unavailable for comment. However, UUP peer
Lord Laird confirmed that he had also been lobbied by the Irish News.
"I would always make time for Tom no matter what he was saying, and always
do," he said.
Lord Laird insisted that his interest in the issue is simply on the basis of
ensuring fairness.
Yesterday (Thursday), Tom Kelly who said that the Irish News is one of his clients
confirmed that the Irish News had briefed the unionists, adding "there is no
mystery to the Irish News briefing".
"I have been lobbied on behalf of newspapers, so I can't imagine why other
people wouldn't be."
A later statement issued jointly by Tom Kelly and the Irish News read: "I
can confirm that the Irish News is one of the clients of Stakeholder
Communications Limited and is one of a number of media clients on whose
behalf Stakeholder Communications Limited acts. As with all our clients, the
work of Stakeholder Communications includes briefings and PR initiatives
both in Great Britain or Ireland."
