The Independent Editor, Simon Kelner, replies:Most days The Independent speaks for itself. We like to think that we do our little bit to make sense of an often bewildering world. But today is different: our editorial approach, and the values that underpin it, have come under attack from the Prime Minister, Tony Blair. .As the only representative of the multifarious British media mentioned by name, it’s hard not to be flattered. Or, indeed, vindicated —- our principled opposition to his policy on Iraq (or the Middle East as he quaintly put it: note he couldn’t refer to Iraq by name) has clearly exasperated him. But that misses the point.We don’t trawl through people’s dustbins. We respect the privacy of those in public life. But, after 10 years of the Blair administration, a decade of spin and counter-spin, of dodgy dossiers, of 45-minute warnings, of burying bad news, of manipulation and misinformation, we feel that the need to interpret and comment upon the official version of events is more important than ever. And we are confident that our readers can differentiate between news and opinion. .What clearly rankles with Mr Blair is not that we campaign vociferously on certain issues, but that he doesn’t agree with our stance. What if we had backed the invasion of Iraq (like, for example, we supported the interventions in Kosovo and Sierra Leone)? Would he then be attacking our style of journalism? Of course not.
