Henry McDonald, The Godfather and the Real IRA

The Guardian Ireland correspondents "exclusive".

Paul Larkin sent the following complaint to the Guardian's editorial standards editor today in reference to Henry McDonald's "exclusive" interview with the Real IRA. The article can be read here - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/14/real-ira-targe...nkers

Complaint regarding Guardian article - "Real IRA says it will target UK bankers" - Tuesday 14 September 2010 21.03 BST

Your Ireland correspondent Henry McDonald describes his interview with the Real IRA as an "exclusive", yet it is common knowledge amongst journalists in Ireland that this tiny dissident group is desperate to talk to anyone who will listen to them. Exactly when did the Guardian decided to adopt this tabloid approach to journalism, where everything is described as an exclusive, even when it patently is not? The description of the interview being similar to a scene from the Godfather is laughable and, in my personal view, a lowering of Guardian standards.

Furthermore, and as on previous occasions, Henry McDonald chooses to quote anti peace process dissidents in an attack on a leading Sinn Féin member (Martin McGuinness) labelling him as a "British Crown minister" who is administering the Queen of England's writ in Ireland. Leaving aside the Real IRA's natural inclination to abuse Martin McGuiness as a "Brit", this statement is technically incorrect. The Good Friday Agreement has set up new institutions in Northern Ireland, which make a clear distinction between Britain and Northern Ireland. In short (and much to the annoyance of many unionists) the GFA has rubber stamped the nationalist argument that Northern Ireland is not British.

In normal professional journalist fashion, your correspondent should have sought a quote from McGuinness and/or Sinn Féin to counterbalance what is in effect a free hit for the Real IRA, an organisation that has almost zero support in Ireland.

Is the editorial staff at the Guardian actually aware that Henry McDonald is a long standing and vociferous opponent of Sinn Féin (please refer to his multitude of books and articles on this and related subjects)? This is common knowledge in Ireland even if it is not widely known on what McDonald now chooses to call the "mainland".

Given McDonald's openly declared political stance where he has described his crusade against Sinn Féin as an ideological "battle", is it not incumbent upon the Guardian to ensure that, at the very least, normal journalistic checks and balances are applied to his copy in order to avoid the whiff of propaganda? Without this kind of balancing, the net effect of this kind of article in the Guardian (whether McDonald intends this or not) is to act as a cheerleader for the Real IRA.