Some updates on the Brown revelations:
First of all, The Sun did not hack into Brown's son's medical records:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by News International
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.
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Fair enough. Not illegal. However I think it's still morally wrong to publish it but they are claiming Brown gave quotes which they took as consent and they did it with the intention of increasing awareness of cystic fibrosis (which it did so obviously). Make of that what you will...
The Sunday Times:
Quote:
We pursued this story in the public interest.
We were told that Mr Brown had bought a flat cheaper than any normal valuation and that he obtained it through a company in which Geoffrey Robinson, a close ally, had been a director.
We had reasonable grounds to investigate this matter and followed the PCC Code on using subterfuge.
We believe no law was broken in the process of this investigation, and contrary to Mr Brown's assertion, no criminal was used and the story was published giving all sides a fair hearing.
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So they did 'blag' his account information. However they make a good point about the reasonable grounds for doing so. I think that they acted correctly and it was in the public interest.