A Family and the Irish Sun

The Press Ombudsman has decided that there is insufficient evidence to allow him to make a decision about a complaint that an article in the Irish Sun about a deceased person was in breach of Principle 1 (Truth and Accuracy) of the Code of Practice for Newspapers and Magazines.

The complainant, on behalf of the deceased person’s family, complained that the article’s association of the deceased with a named criminal and its description of him as a small-time criminal were inaccurate. The newspaper responded that its information was from a source it considered reputable.

While the publication of the material in question was quite obviously very distressing for the family of the deceased man, and although the complainant submitted ancillary evidence to support the deceased person’s good character, there was insufficient independent or corroborative evidence to allow the Press Ombudsman to make a decision on the truth or accuracy of the particular statements in the article complained about under Principle 1.

9 December 2010

The Family appealed the decision of the Press Ombudsman to the Press Council of Ireland.