Decision
of the Complaints Committee – 17972-23 Welford v mirror.co.uk
Summary
of Complaint
1.
Kimberley Welford complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation
that mirror.co.uk breached Clause 1 (Accuracy), Clause 2 (Privacy) and Clause 6
(Children) of the Editors’ Code of Practice in an article headlined “EXCLUSIVE:
Love rat dad who has 16 kids by 15 women has 'settled down' with long-term
partner”, published on 4 April 2023.
2.
The article claimed that the complainant – who was, according to the article,
aged “37” – was in a “permanent relationship” with a man whom it described as a
“love rat”. It also stated that the couple had “first met eight years ago” and
“have a son [together] who is now aged six”. It then reported her comments: “I
got with [the man] in 2015. We have been together since then”. The article then
reported that the man “was said to have sired another set of twins during
lockdown”, but the complainant “denied that was possible, saying: ‘There is not
chance he could have had twins then’”.
3.
The article was accompanied by five images, one of which showed the complainant
and the man sharing a kiss. The captions of these images reported that she and
the man had “settled down” and been together “since 2015”, respectively. These
images were removed prior to the complainant contacting IPSO, as a result of a
direct complaint made to the publication.
4.
The complainant said that the article was inaccurate, in breach of Clause 1.
While she accepted that she and the man had had a brief relationship in 2016 –
and had a child together – she said that they were no longer together: they
were not in a “steady” or “permanent” relationship. She also denied that she
had confirmed the status of their relationship to the publication, or made the
comments reported within the article. She also said that the article had
misreported her age: she was 27, not 37. Further, the complainant denied that
the man had “sired another set of twins during lockdown”.
5.
The complainant said that the article represented an unjustified intrusion into
her private life. She said that the article – and their accompanying
photographs of her – identified her and her child, and had been published
without her permission in breach of Clause 2 and Clause 6.
6.
The publication did not accept a breach of the Code. The publication said the
article was an accurate report of an interview with the complainant and
provided an audio recording of the interview to IPSO to demonstrate this. In
the recording, the complainant denied that the man could have had another child
in “2020” and confirmed that she had been “in a permanent relationship with him
since 2015” and “for eight years”. The publication also provided a screenshot
of a post on Facebook by the complainant and the man in 2022 confirming the
status of their relationship: “In a Relationship”. Further, the publication
said the article made clear that it was conjecture that the man “was said to
have sired another set of twins during lockdown”, noting that the article
included the complainant’s denial of this allegation.
7.
The publication accepted that it had, due to human error, incorrectly reported
the complainant’s age. However, the publication did not consider that this
amounted to a significant inaccuracy. Notwithstanding this, at the start of
IPSO’s investigation, the publication, in a gesture of goodwill, amended the
online article and published the following footnote correction:
“A
previous version of this article reported that Kimberley Welford was 37 years
old. In fact, she is 27. We have amended the article accordingly.”
8.
With regard to Clause 2, the publication said that the images which were used
to illustrate the story were already in the public domain, having been
published on the open social media profiles of both the complainant and the
man. It added that the photographs did not disclose any personal or private
information about the complainant, and only showed her likeness. It also noted
that the images had been removed, in a gesture of goodwill, upon receipt of her
direct complaint.
9.
In relation to Clause 6, the publication did not accept that the article
constituted an issue involving the welfare of the complainant’s child. It noted
that the article did not name or picture the child. It also said the man – and
father of the child – had publicly posted photographs of the child, and this
was discussed during the interview between the complainant and the reporter.
Relevant
Clause Provisions
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
2 (Privacy)*
i)
Everyone is entitled to respect for their private and family life, home,
physical and mental health, and correspondence, including digital
communications.
ii)
Editors will be expected to justify intrusions into any individual's private
life without consent. In considering an individual's reasonable expectation of
privacy, account will be taken of the complainant's own public disclosures of
information and the extent to which the material complained about is already in
the public domain or will become so.
iii)
It is unacceptable to photograph individuals, without their consent, in public
or private places where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Clause
6 (Children)*
i)
All pupils should be free to complete their time at school without unnecessary
intrusion.
ii)
They must not be approached or photographed at school without permission of the
school authorities.
iii)
Children under 16 must not be interviewed or photographed on issues involving
their own or another child’s welfare unless a custodial parent or similarly
responsible adult consents.
iv)
Children under 16 must not be paid for material involving their welfare, nor
parents or guardians for material about their children or wards, unless it is
clearly in the child's interest.
v)
Editors must not use the fame, notoriety or position of a parent or guardian as
sole justification for publishing details of a child's private life.
Findings
of the Committee
10.
In considering the accuracy of the article, the Committee had regard to the
audio recording provided by the publication. The headline reported that the man
had ”settled down” with his long-term partner, with the text of the article
stating that the complainant had “confirmed” that she and the man were “in a
permanent relationship”. During the recorded interview, the complainant said
she had been in “permanent relationship” with the man for “eight years” and
“since 2015”. Given this, and where the publication had provided a screenshot
of the man’s Facebook page, which confirmed that he was “in a relationship”
with the complainant, the Committee did not consider that the article
inaccurately reported the status of the complainant’s relationship with the man
or the comments she had provided to the reporter. The Committee considered that
the publication had demonstrated that it had taken care over the accuracy of
the article on this point, and it did not establish any inaccuracies requiring
correction. There was no breach of Clause 1.
11.
The Committee next considered whether the article was inaccurate to report that
the man “was said to have sired another set of twins during lockdown”. This was
clearly distinguished as a claim, with the complainant’s denial of the claim –
as outlined in her communication with the reporter – made clear within the text
of the article. The Committee also noted that it had not received a complaint
from the man concerned, to whom this element of the complaint related most
directly. There was no breach of Clause 1 on this point.
12.
Further, the Committee did not consider that the article was significantly
inaccurate or misleading to misreport the complainant’s age within the context
of the overall article, and where it did not affect the reporting of the
complainant’s comments, the status of her relationship with the man, or the
number of children the man was said to have fathered. There was no breach of
Clause 1 on this point. Nonetheless, the Committee welcomed the publication’s
steps to address this error.
13.
The Committee next considered the complainant’s concerns under Clause 2. The
Committee noted that in considering an individual's reasonable expectation of
privacy, it takes account of an individual’s own public disclosures of
information and the extent to which the material complained about is already in
the public domain. The images of the complainant had been publicly available on
Facebook at the time of publication of the article. For this reason, and in
circumstances where the complainant had spoken with the reporter about her
relationship with the man and their child, the Committee did not consider that
the complainant had a reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of this
information, and its publication did not represent an intrusion into her
private life. There was no breach of Clause 2.
14.
Finally, the Committee noted that the publication had not identified the
complainant’s child. Rather, it had reported that her and the man shared a
child – information she had disclosed to the reporter during the interview and
which the man had shared on his publicly-accessible social media pages. The
brief and limited reference to the child did not represent either details of
the child’s private life or an unnecessary intrusion into the child’s time at
school in breach of Clause 6.
Conclusion(s)
15.
The complaint was not upheld.
Remedial
action required
16.
N/A
Date
complaint received: 12/04/2023
Date
complaint concluded by IPSO: 14/06/2023.
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