Good morning. The story of the Manchester Guardian began in 1821, in the aftermath of the Peterloo massacre, when working people rallying for political reform were killed by the troops sent to disperse them. It was founded with the financial backing of a group of middle-class radicals who shared founding editor John Edward Taylor’s commitment to enlightenment values, liberty, and justice.
That is a true story. But it is also an incomplete one. Yesterday, the Scott Trust – which owns the Guardian today – published a report which excavates a far darker aspect of the newspaper’s history.
