'Hot off press' Morning Star makes own headlines with office blaze

31 July 2008

Julia Gregory

FIRE badly damaged the offices of the Morning Star newspaper in East London.

Journalists have been producing the paper from their homes after the blaze.

The second floor offices of the daily socialist paper were damaged at Beachy Road in Bow on Monday.

A posting on the paper's website said: "In the early hours of Monday morning, fire swept through the offices at the Morning Star.

"Nobody was hurt and the fire brigade were quickly on the scene to put out the blaze and minimise the damage.

"Production has been severely disrupted, but we will continue to bring out your paper after having moved into emergency offices."

The paper's phone lines were down this week, with knock-on effects for the newsroom, advertising and circulation.

It took 20 firefighters up to an hour to bring the fire under control, with four fire tenders mobilised from Bow and Homerton fire-stations. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Supporters of the paper have posted comments on the Socialist Unity site.