Newly revealed documents reveal that MI5 taught Brazilian secret police the techniques deployed by the 1964-85 military dictatorship in horrific prisons like Rio de Janeiro’s House of Death. SARA VIVACQUA reports
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Banned but unbowed – how the Daily Worker was suppressed 80 years ago
PHIL KATZ relates how the Morning Star’s forerunner was banned and the massive struggle to restore press freedom to unban the people’s paper
CHRISTOPHE DOMEC speaks to the France Insoumise politician facing constant persecution from French authorities
It can be hard to discern conspiracy theory from reality and under the Trump regime the two might just be the same thing, writes Linda Pentz Gunter
ALAN SIMPSON says responses to the Golders Green attacks risk deepening divides across our country
Capturing the general strikes history is a vital part of our struggles today, posits HENRY FOWLER
On a tumultuous day in Welsh politics DAVID NICHOLSON looks at the key issues for progressives in Wales to grapple with the rise of the far right
WITH media bans very much in the public eye at the moment, few can be better qualified to express a view than the Morning Star, whose forerunner, the Daily Worker, experienced a decade-long struggle with censors, libel suits, grizzly judges — one was described in the paper as a “bewigged puppet” — and eventually, an outright ban.
Today, January 21, is the anniversary of one such anti-democratic measure, and certainly the most serious.
The owners and editorial staff of the paper had seen it coming and made meticulous plans, which included legal and illegal printing, the establishment of powerful support leagues made up of factory workers and readers and even a High Court challenge. The challenge was successful, but the ban stayed in place.
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MARY DAVIS welcomes a remarkable documentary about the general strike — politically spot on, and featuring accounts from the strikers themselves — that is available for screenings
CJ ATKINS commemorates one of the most dramatic moments in working-class history
A chance find when clearing out our old office led us to renew a friendship across 5,000 miles and almost nine decades of history, explains ROGER McKENZIE
Our roving AGM from this Thursday through Sunday and our upcoming Morning Star Conference 2025 on June 14 in London are great opportunities to meet the team and help plan the way forward, says editor BEN CHACKO