Magazine sellers ‘cannot be censors’

Newsagents have said they “cannot act as a censor of what people want to access” after it emerged the current edition of Charlie Hebdo, containing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, will be on sale in Ireland.

Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association chief Vincent Jennings defended the decision, as the first edition of the controversial satirical magazine since last week’s lethal attacks went to press. A radical British activist claimed its publication was an “act of war”.

While Charlie Hebdo usually has a circulation of 60,000 and is limited to France, as an act of defiance and massive interest worldwide this week’s edition will have a 3m print run. The copies will be translated into 16 languages and be distributed in 20 countries worldwide.