Not going into the firing line? You're fired!

ED MOLONEY beat a demand that he reveal his sources for a story about "Loyalist" terror in Belfast. That was in 1999. Since then he's been working abroad for the Sunday Tribune, and he's got a book out - A Secret History of the IRA. Which makes it strange that now-ex-Tribune editor Matt Cooper, practically on the way out of the door, ordered Ed to go back to Belfast as Northern Ireland editor - and fired him when prudence overcame obedience and he refused. The NUJ is supporting Ed's claim against the paper. Belfast branch chair Kevin Cooper said: "The growing concern about safety of journalists working in Northern Ireland does not seem to be shared by employers."

Ed's photo © Kevin Cooper