Johann Hari suspended from the Independent
Gay journalist Johann Hari has been suspended from the Independent after claims that he plagiarised interviews.
Chris Blackhurst, editor of the Independent, said: “Johann Hari has been suspended for two months pending the outcome of an internal enquiry. We have no further comment to make.”
Mr Hari, an Orwell prize-winning left-wing commentator, was accused of plagiarism and ‘churnalism’ last month after bloggers spotted that he had used old quotes in interviews without attributing them.
He has apologised, but said he was trying to ensure that the reader “understands their point as clearly as possible”.
The Orwell Prize committee is investigating his 2007 award.
It has also been suggested that he has used online aliases to attack critics.
PinkNews.co.uk attempted to contact Mr Hari earlier on Tuesday. However, an automatic response said he was “catching up on work” and would soon be “out of the country on an assignment”.
