By Gabriel Princewill-
The Sunday Mirror nd the Liverpool Echo have both found themselves in hot water with the press regulator, Ipso, after a complaint to the news publication by an aggrieved father was upheld.
The longstanding publication, reputed for ground breaking stories unearthing news, slipped up this time by featuring the photograph of two children in breach of Ipso’s code
The children’s father, Syed Abbas, complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation, the press regulator, that the Sunday Mirror breached Clause 2 (Privacy) and Clause 6 (Children) of the Editors’ Code of Practice, when publishing its article.
The Editor’s Code explicitly prohibits the interviewing or photographing of children under 16 on issues involving their own or another child’s welfare unless a custodial parent or similarly responsible adult consents.
IPSO concluded the publishing of the children’s photos, or identifying them, was not in the public interest and there was a breach of Clause 6.
The regulator also found that the publication of the images of the children, along with their names and ages, in this context, represented an unjustified intrusion into the children’s privacy.
The article was an account from a couple whose daughter had died in Pakistan, after having flown there with her two children. The names and the ages of the children were included in the article, as well as their photographs.
Considering the fact the couple had given the story to the publication, it was somewhat unsurprising that the Sunday Mirror sought to embellish their coverage with photographs od the children, but it erred by not obtaining explicit consent in doing so.
It is not clear who supplied the photographs of the children to the Sunday Mirror, but
The Sunday Mirror was contacted for comment.