Spokesman Books

Bernard Ingham (press secretary) wrote to Mrs Thatcher , minuting the discussion at her lunch with Rupert Murdoch on 4 January 1981. Mr Murdoch tells Mrs Thatcher of his intent to buy The Times and The Sunday Times and the difficulties that he might experience in the form of the unions. He states he is uncertain of his ability: 'to crack a particularly tough nut in the form of the chapel leadership of the clerical staff who had extracted high pay and a short working week '. The letter ends: 'The Prime Minister thanked Mr. Murdoch for keeping her posted on his operations. She did no more than wish him well in his bid, noting the need for much improved arrangements in Fleet Street affecting manning and the introduction of new technology .' In evidence to the Leveson Inquiry on Wednesday 25 April 2012, Rupert Murdoch claimed he ' didn't have the will to crush the unions. I might have had the desire, but that took several years .' Spokesman Boo...

The playwright and novelist, John Arden, has died, age 81. He was a great writer, and long-time friend and supporter of the work of the Russell Foundation . In recent years, he campaigned against the use of Shannon Airport in the West of Ireland as a transit for US military heading to Afghanistan, Iraq and other theatres of war, contrary to the requirements of Ireland's international status as a neutral country. These campaigns also highlighted the use of Shannon for secret "rendition" of prisoners in the so-called "war on terror", who might be tortured on arrival at their destination, as revealed by the Council of Europe. In 2009, John Arden produced a glorious collection of stories entitled Gallows and Other Tales of Suspicion and Obession , which mingles black comedy with melodrama to probe the underside of Irish and English history from the 17th century to the 21st. He is the author of a variety of plays, including All Fall Down , which appeared in 1955, Ser...

Press launch Thursday 28 April at 3pm , at the Marx Memorial Library , Clerkenwell Green, EC1R 0DU (Farringdon tube) Bad News – The Wapping Dispute tells the poignant and timely story of an ordinary group of people who were thrown into extraordinary circumstances, and the effects these circumstances had on their lives. By Graham Dodkins and John Lang Foreword by Tony Benn Published by Spokesman on 1st May 2011 On 24th January 1986, some 5,000 workers employed by four of Britain’s national newspapers were sacked: The Sun , News of the World , The Times and The Sunday Times were owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News International Limited, and the bitter industrial dispute that followed was to last 13 months. As the 25th anniversary of the dispute nears, Bad News – The Wapping Dispute is published at a time when there is renewed public anger at a Conservative-led government, and unemployment, police handling of demonstrations, and Rupert Murdoch’s hold over the British press and media dom...