Page "Gilbert Mabbot" Paragraph 3

Rushworth had gathered much of his material from the primitive newsbooks which pioneered the publication of news, and which he encountered as part of his service as a licenser of the press.

He used his influence to appoint Mabbot as his deputy from March 1645.

Both were dismissed in March 1647 but Mabbot was appointed as Rushworth's successor on September 30, 1647 after a request from Thomas Fairfax, Commander-in-Chief of the Parliamentary Army.

It is possible Mabbot was an ally of the Levellers, an important faction in the Army who wanted to declare a Republic, abolish the House of Lords, and institute a government which was purely democratic over the whole sphere of public life.