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Appalling mistake (stupidity? vandalism?)

I have tended to keep quiet about Reuters in the Thomson Reuter era. I am conscious that generations of Reuters women and men have dated the start of its decline at a point just before their decision to leave.

 

But the recent signature by Thomson Reuter of the Armed Forces Covenant is a point at which I cannot be silent.

 

To sign a document that talks of the agency's "commitment" to "those who proudly protect our nation" is unbelievably crass, business limiting, and dangerous for countless Reuters journalists and other staff. 

 

Whose nation? I may have a British passport, but I was born in Cyprus. In Reuters I proudly worked alongside people of countless nationalities, creeds and colours. Reuters stood for independence, and for not bowing to pressure.

 

In Latin America, I was able to point to the proud history of Reuters in reporting forcefully and clearly what was happening - without having to revert to name-calling or cosying up to one regime or another. I resisted calls to side with one side or another despite fierce pressure, including threats of expulsion or worse. It is how we were able to maintain our credibility. It is, and always has been, a source of deep personal pride that I worked for an agency that could convey horror, corruption and evil without the simplistic use of labels.

 

To state that Reuters supports one side or, worse, that it will seek their approval, collapses the pillars on which its reputation is based.

 

The world needs Reuters - the old Reuters - more than ever. This is not a grumpy Old Reuters staffer, or someone who has no view of the world outside Reuters. I have worked in the humanitarian charity sector, in academia, and in the British government among other employers for nearly 20 years post Reuters. But I have always been proud of having worked for a news organisation that had the courage to say no to influence or threats, and was therefore to be trusted.

 

Even if you do not subscribe (and why ever not?) to this view of Reuters, the move makes no business sense. Business is, unsurprisingly, global. Why, why, oh why, sign something that will irk many clients around the world? Whoever thought this was a good idea should go - now. ■