‘Your newspaper is a mere shadow of itself’: MPs condemn Trinity Mirror’s Midlands job cuts plan

Geoffrey Robinson, MP for Coventry North West, has written to the editor of the Coventry Telegraph to protest six planned journalism job cuts.

Last week, Trinity Mirror announced that it was seeking to make 25 redundancies across the Midlands, including 19 in Birmingham.

Robinson has, along with fellow Coventry MPs Colleen Fletcher and Jim Cunningham, requested a meeting with editor Keith Perry on Friday.

Robinson also wrote a letter to the newspaper saying: “Redundancies are always a sad business and very sadly they seem to come in a never ending stream at the Coventry Telegraph. Your newspaper is a mere shadow of itself. After the present redundancies, your paper could be left with just four reporters and as few as 20 editorial staff in total.

“You will have hollowed out your capacity to play the important role of a free press in a modern democracy. Coventry is fast becoming a vibrant dynamic city again. What a pity that our newspaper has abandoned its responsibility to scrutinise and hold to account those of us in positions of responsibility.”

Robinson has also drafted an early day motion to be read in Parliament. It says: “This House expresses deep concern at the announcement by Trinity Mirror that it intends cutting 25 Midlands jobs as part of a newsroom restructure; further expresses concern at the impact of such a development on local accountability and democracy; further notes the impact this will have on content with far fewer journalists; and urges Trinity Mirror urgently to hold talks with the National Union of Journalists.”