Resolution Statement 07897-19 A Family v Sunday World
Summary of Complaint
1. A family complained to the Independent Press Standards
Organisation that the Sunday World breached Clause 1 (Accuracy), Clause 4
(Intrusion into grief or shock) and Clause 5 (Reporting of suicide) of the
Editors’ Code of Practice in an article headlined “IRA KILLER IS BURIED WITH
PAST” published on 16 June 2019.
2. The article reported on a man who had recently died. It
reported as fact that he was a paramilitary, and that he “…took part in two of
the most cynical murders of the entire Troubles”. It also reported that “police
on both sides of the border” believed that he was involved in a murder in 1972
that took place in a shed which the article reported was “under [the man’s]
control”, and that he was subsequently wanted for questioning by police in
Northern Ireland. It also reported claims about the man’s wife’s death in 1984,
and included comments from an unnamed person described as having been in
conversation with the woman prior to her death.
The complainants were the family of the man who died. They
said that the article breached Clause 1 because there was no evidence that
their father was a member of a paramilitary organisation, or that he was
involved in any way with any murders as alleged in the article. They said that
he was never arrested or wanted by the police, and worked and travelled freely
in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland; it was not the case that
he was ever wanted by police on either side of the Irish border. They said that
if he were ever suspected of the crimes set out in the article, he would not
have been able to live his life as freely as he was able to do. As part of
their complaint, the family submitted contemporaneous written evidence that
disputed the series of allegations made in the article.
3. The complainants also said that the article breached
Clause 4 and Clause 5 by reporting speculation about the woman’s death; they
disputed the claims put forward in the article as to the circumstances surrounding
her death, and said that reporting these claims had caused them much distress,
especially in light of the man’s recent death.
4. The newspaper did not accept that there was a breach of
the Code. It said that the information about the man and the woman had been
provided by three independent sources, which it said were reliable. It noted
that the complainants did not have first-hand knowledge of the events which
were alleged to have taken place – either in regard to the man, or his wife.
Relevant Code Provisions
5. Clause 1 (Accuracy)
i) The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate,
misleading or distorted information or images, including headlines not
supported by the text.
ii) A significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distortion
must be corrected, promptly and with due prominence, and — where appropriate —
an apology published. In cases involving IPSO, due prominence should be as
required by the regulator.
iii) A fair opportunity to reply to significant inaccuracies
should be given, when reasonably called for.
iv) The Press, while free to editorialise and campaign, must
distinguish clearly between comment, conjecture and fact.
Clause 4 (Intrusion into grief or shock)
In cases involving personal grief or shock, enquiries and
approaches must be made with sympathy and discretion and publication handled
sensitively. These provisions should not restrict the right to report legal
proceedings.
Clause 5 (Reporting of suicide)
When reporting suicide, to prevent simulative acts care
should be taken to avoid excessive detail of the method used, while taking into
account the media's right to report legal proceedings.
Mediated Outcome
6. The complaint was not resolved through direct
correspondence between the parties. IPSO therefore began an investigation into
the matter.
7. During IPSO’s investigation, the newspaper offered to
print the following apology to the complainants:
Apology: [Named persons]
On 16 June 2019 we published an article following the death
of [named man]. In that article we made a number of allegations based on
information provided to us by sources, including that [named man] was an IRA
member who was involved in the murders of [named victim] and [named victim].
[Named man]’s family have rejected as completely untrue any suggestion that he
was a member of the IRA or had any involvement in the murders. The article
claimed that a source had told us that the late [named woman] had suffered from
depression and took her own life as a result of witnessing events related to
the murder of [named victim]. We acknowledge that [named man] was never
arrested or questioned by authorities on either side of the border, that [named
man and woman] had not met each other at the time of the events referred to in
the article and that the [complainants] assert that [woman]’s death resulted
from postnatal depression. We apologise to [complainants] for the upset caused
to them by the publication of this article so close to the death of [named
man]. This apology was agreed with the assistance of IPSO.
8. The complainants said that this would resolve the matter
to their satisfaction.
9. As the complaint
was successfully mediated, the Complaints Committee did not make a
determination as to whether there had been any breach of the Code.
Date complaint received: 08/10/2019
Date complaint concluded by IPSO: 27/02/2020