Roy Greenslade held a number of prominent positions in Fleet Street over the course of a long career. But he spent the largest part of it at the Guardian, where he berated other journalists for their writings. A similar stance was adopted by him from his position as professor of journalism at City, University of London, from where he lectured students on media ethics and gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry.
At the same time he became slightly notorious outside of Islington for his support of the IRA. Whenever Gerry Adams had something self-pitying or self–exculpating to say, Roy was there as his loyal mouthpiece.
In 2000 this magazine ran a piece by Stephen Glover which identified ‘a pro-Republican cell within the Guardian’. Those identified included the open IRA supporter Ronan Bennett and Roy Greenslade. At the time the article brought down furious denunciations on The Spectator. The Guardian’s editor, Alan Rusbridger, expressed outrage at the suggestion that his paper harboured IRA sympathisers. He condemned the then editor of this magazine, Boris Johnson, and called for an apology. A subsequent Guardian leader column criticised any suggestion that Greenslade had sympathies for the IRA.
Roy’s friends just put bombs into pubs, etc. How disgraceful of the authorities to not find them in time
Happily, Greenslade has now closed this debate himself. In a piece republished in the Sunday Times last weekend, Greenslade came clean. The impetus, he explained, came from the fact that he has given up journalism and now has grandsons and he wants them to be able to understand how he came to the views he did.
Even now Greenslade shows himself to be a fool as well as a coward. In his piece he explains that he got into supporting the IRA after the briefest possible introduction to the Troubles.
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