Wednesday briefing: The real origins of the money that helped found the Guardian
In today's newsletter: The Guardian's owner has apologised for the newspaper's historic links to the trade of enslaved people - this is why
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.
Climate crisis | The UK is strikingly unprepared" for the impacts of the climate crisis, according to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which said there had been a lost decade" in efforts to adapt for the impacts of global heating. The body said fully credible" UK government planning was found for only five of the 45 adaptation requirements examined.
Paul O'Grady | Paul O'Grady, the beloved TV presenter and comedian who broke on to the scene with his drag act persona Lily Savage, has died at the age of 67. His partner Andre Portasio said O'Grady passed away peacefully but unexpectedly" on Tuesday evening.
Taiwan | The Chinese government has threatened retaliation if Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen, meets the US House speaker this week, and urged the US not to let her transit through the country, saying it would be a provocation". Tsai is due to visit Central American allies and is also expected to visit the US.
Scotland | Humza Yousaf has said becoming Scotland's first Muslim leader sends a strong message to every single person out there who feels that they don't belong". But the first minister's attempts to reunite the SNP after a bitter leadership campaign were dealt a blow after his main rival, Kate Forbes, turned down a position in his cabinet.
Media | Prince Harry has claimed members of the royal family struck a secret deal with newspapers not to sue them over phone hacking because it would open a can of worms". In high court documents, he said there was a private deal with Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers, which publishes the Sun.
On the eve of the American civil war the inflow of American cotton into Britain was vast, and around two and a half thousand cotton mills and factories had emerged in Lancashire, many of them in and around Manchester - a city known by the middle decades of the century as Cottonopolis. As was fully understood at the time, much of the cotton that was spun, woven, dyed, processed and traded in Manchester was produced by the almost 2 million enslaved Africans who lived, worked and suffered on cotton plantations in the southern United States.
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