Told to accommodate the former communist (7)
I believe the answer is:
related
'told' is the definition.
(as in relating a story)
'to accommodate the former communist' is the wordplay.
'to accommodate' indicates putting letters inside.
'the former' becomes 'late' (late can mean former or previous).
'communist' becomes 'red' (red can informally mean communist).
'late' going inside 'red' is 'RELATED'.
(Other definitions for related that I've seen before include "spilled the beans" , "Told; akin" , "Narrated; connected" , "Having family links" , "Having common descent or origin" .)