Alan Rusbridger steps down from Future of Media Commission after Roy Greenslade IRA row

The former Guardian editor quit as a result of the row around his former newspaper’s media analyst Roy Greenslade who recently confirmed that he had been a long-standing, undeclared IRA supporter.

In a statement published by the commission he said: “I was pleased to be invited by the Taoiseach to be part of the Future of the Media Commission. I was heartened by his backing for my continued involvement, along with the Culture and Media Minister, Catherine Martin.

“The unanimous support of my commission colleagues was very important to me. The commission is considering critical issues for Ireland and I don’t want my involvement to be a distraction from its work, so I have told its chair, Prof Brian MacCraith, that I will step down.”

The commission said: “The Taoiseach and Irish Minister Catherine Martin have acknowledged Mr Alan Rusbridger’s decision to step down as a member of the Future of Media Commission so as to avoid any further distraction from the commission’s work. They thanked Mr Rusbridger for his significant contribution to the commission to date.”

Mr Rusbridger was a former editor over Roy Greenslade when they both worked on the Guardian.

Mr Greenslade, a former Daily Mirror editor, came under intense fire in recent days by saying that throughout his media career he had supported the IRA “armed struggle”.

Roy Greenslade’s ‘very amusing’ comments on IRA ‘Gibraltar 3’ left ‘profoundly filthy taste’ says journalist Kathyrn Johnston

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