Colin Randall is absolutely correct. The job of a journalist is to report who? what? when? where? concisely and accurately and therein journalistic integrity lies. He wasn't a leader writer and would not, therefore, have any right or reason to put a political slant on what he wrote and, as far as I am aware (either at PA or at the DT), he did not.

I should like to explain to the person called Penguin Egg that I arrived, coincidentally, in Moscow on the overnight train from Kiev on 11 September 1973 with a YCL delegation to be greeted with the news of the bombing of the President's palace in Santiago, the murder of Allende and, later, that of the New Chilean Song Movement musician Victor Jara by Pinochet's thugs. I called immediately, there on the platform where I was supposed to be making a speech of solidarity with Russian platform sweepers or something, for the Soviet airforce to get into their planes and rescue the Chilean people. No, I wasn't expelled (I don't suppose many secret police were listening) and so I was able to send first-hand reports of Soviet people's reactions to the crushing of Popular Unity by the Thatch's mates. And yes, the Morning Star used them.

As well as a crash course in spelling, I'd advise another urgent one in distinguishing left from right and good from bad in political and humanitarian terms.

(Oh, and best wishes to Eliza and get yerself back to work asap. What an excuse! Tsk, Tsk).