WHFP apology

The West Highland Free Press (WHFP) has printed a front page apology for a "serious error of judgement" in losing a well known columnist, Professor Donald Macleod.

However, no such apology is forthcoming for sacking Brian Wilson - the weekly's former owner who sold his shares to staff some years ago.

With a large number of readers threatening a financially damaging boycott after it got rid of two prominent writers, the paper risks becoming the author of its own misfortunes.

Until now, a major commercial strength of the Free Press was the range of strong and often provocative viewpoints expressed by its array of columnists which differentiated it from print competitors and helped arrest the rate of decline experienced in the local newspaper industry.

With official circulation over the 7,000 mark - about half in the Western Isles - the paper is not far behind the Stornoway Gazette which is shedding a far greater number of readers.

However, Donald Macleod - a leading Free Church theologian - and Mr Brian Wilson no longer write for the weekly following a row when it published Mr Macleod's opinion that Muslims will dominate Britain within quarter of a century.

The employee-owners of the paper objected to the strong language in the piece and pressurised editor, Ian McCormack, to try and get Mr Macleod to tone it down in future.

The columnist saw this as a "challenge to his right of freedom of expression and felt he could no longer contribute to the paper," says the statement.

The editor says he made a serious error of judgement in his dealings with Professor Macleod.

On the other hand, Mr McCormack considers Brian Wilson's follow-up piece - which flagged up the silence over the professor's disappearance and defended his right to express his personal viewpoint - to be a "breach of trust between us."

The editor published Mr Wilson's "critical column," believing to spike it would attract accusations of censorship.

Brian Wilson was then promptly sacked from the Free Press, the newspaper he was instrumental in getting off the ground with the present editor in 1972.

A third writer, Maggie Cunningham, said she would stop submitting columns to the WHFP as a result.

West Highland Free Press - Brian Wilson sacked over "breach of trust"

16 July 2015