DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

The Sun defends itself against accusations concerning Brown's child (updated with apology from The Guardian)

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Dissent

Yesterday, I posted a link to a story in The Guardian that essentially accused The Sun of egregious conducting in publishing information about a political figure’s child’s health issues.  At the time, I stated that whoever engaged in such conduct should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, but noted that an investigation was necessary to determine who did what.  Today, The Sun responded to The Guardian‘s report. Dominic Ponsford reports in PressGazette:

The Sun has gone public with evidence which proves it did not obtain details of the medical condition of Gordon Brown’s son Fraser from a medical file as claimed.

The Guardian reported yesterday that The Sun had obtained details from the medical file of four-month-old Fraser to find out he had cystic fibrosis for a story which appeared in 2006.

The allegations were widely followed up and reported as fact in many places today.

News International said in a statement: “Following allegations made yesterday by Gordon Brown against The Sun, we have been conducting an inquiry. This is in line with normal practice and procedure.

“We are able to assure the Brown family that we did not access the medical records of their son, nor did we commission anyone to do so.

“The story The Sun ran about their son originated from a member of the public whose family has also experienced cystic fibrosis. He came to The Sun with this information voluntarily because he wanted to highlight the cause of those afflicted by the disease. The individual has provided a written affidavit this afternoon to a lawyer confirming this.

“On receipt of the information, The Sun approached Mr Brown and discussed with his colleagues how best to present it. Those colleagues provided quotes which were used in the published piece which indicated his consent to it.

“We believe that the article was written sensitively and appropriately. We are not aware of Mr Brown, nor any of his colleagues to whom we spoke, making any complaint about it at the time.

“The publication of the story and the further responsible, sympathetic and informative coverage The Sun continued to give to the disease resulted in renewed interest for those affected by it. Donations to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust nearly doubled over the next year.

“We continue to inquire in to other allegations made by Mr Brown, and implore him to provide details to us so we can establish the facts.”

The Press Complaints Commission has said that it has no record of receiving any contact from Brown over this matter.

That may sound good to The Sun, but it is still not acceptable to me that they published an infant’s health matters because the father is a political figure. It may be of public curiosity, but it is not of public interest and the child and family were entitled to some privacy over a medical matter.

In light of the above, if it should be confirmed, I doubt that the ICO can do anything and it will fall solely to the Press Commission, I suspect, to issue any finding or decision.

UPDATE:  The Guardian has now apologized to The Sun.

Category: Health Data

Post navigation

← The real story doesn't require psychic powers
Toshiba Hacked? →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Central Maine Healthcare tackles suspected cybersecurity issue; hospitals remain open
  • Cartier Data Breach: Luxury Retailer Warns Customers that Personal Data Was Exposed
  • Beyond the Pond Phish: Unraveling Lazarus Group’s Evolving Tactics
  • Akira doesn’t keep its promises to victims — SuspectFile
  • Fraudsters, murderers, students: who the GRU assembled a team of hacker provocateurs from and why it failed
  • Order of Psychologists of Lombardy fined 30,000 € for inadequate data security protection and detection following ransomware attack
  • Lower Merion School District says a data breach was caused by a computer glitch (1)
  • After $1 Million Ransom Demand, Virgin Islands Lottery Restores Operations Without Paying Hackers
  • Junior Defence Contractor Arrested For Leaking Indian Naval Secrets To Suspected Pakistani Spies
  • Mysterious leaker GangExposed outs Conti kingpins in massive ransomware data dump

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • Stewart Baker vs. Orin Kerr on “The Digital Fourth Amendment”
  • Fears Grow Over ICE’s Reach Into Schools
  • Resource: HoganLovells Asia-Pacific Data, Privacy and Cybersecurity Guide 2025
  • She Got an Abortion. So A Texas Cop Used 83,000 Cameras to Track Her Down.
  • Why AI May Be Listening In on Your Next Doctor’s Appointment
  • Watch out for activist judges trying to deprive us of our rights to safe reproductive healthcare
  • Nebraska Bans Minor Social Media Accounts Without Parental Consent

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.