The Sun newspaper 'on back foot' over possible defamation

[pellinore]

The Sun has been accused of hypocrisy after it paid for and published over many years topless pictures of the 16 year old schoolgirl Sam Fox (their Page 3 model).

A former editor of The Sun said the paper had "inflicted terror" on Edwards and is now facing a "crisis".

The Sun claims it did not allege criminality

Two police forces have said they are not pursuing action against Edwards after finding no evidence of criminal offences.

The Sun spokesperson said the newspaper had "at no point" in its original story alleged criminality.

The paper "also took the decision neither to name Mr Edwards nor the young person involved in the allegations", they added.

"Suggestions about possible criminality were first made at a later date by other media outlets, including the BBC," the spokesperson

Huw Edwards: The Sun says it has dossier of 'serious' claims but has 'no plans' to publish more allegations | UK News | Sky News

Edited July 13, 2023 by pellinore

[Susanc241]

I wouldn’t read the Sun, nor touch it with a barge pole, but don’t you think their reporting inferred a crime?  From the way third party reporting gave it, it would seem so to me.  A horrible sad mess, for everyone involved, on both sides, whatever the truth of it all.

[Essan]

2 hours ago, Susanc241 said:

I wouldn’t read the Sun, nor touch it with a barge pole, but don’t you think their reporting inferred a crime?  From the way third party reporting gave it, it would seem so to me.  A horrible sad mess, for everyone involved, on both sides, whatever the truth of it all.

The fact that they made the story headline news in the first place implied criminal activity.  Otherwise why run it?

"BBC employee partakes in perfectly legal, if some may argue morally ambiguous, activity" would not have garnered quite the same attention (nor would it had it been a Tesco employee, for example).   IMO The Sun (and the other tabloids) clearly wanted to imply a serious crime - and a cover-up by the BBC.

Also, the initial news story joyfully quoted the parents as referring to "their child" - with the clear intention of making readers think we're talking about a younger person, not an adult.

There may have been a crime if the teenager sold images before they were 18 (there's no evidence this happened).   But in that case, the teenager themself had committed an offence.   

There certainly was a crime when the teenager used the money they raised to buy illegal drugs - but it seems that whilst the idea of middle aged men oggling naked teenagers is about as abhorrent as you can get - and certainly nothing any Sun reader would ever dream of doing - selling £35k worth of drugs to a teenager is a perfectly acceptable activity and if the dealer(s) didn't declare their earning on their tax return, good for them!

[SHaYap]

The Sun faces gloomy future ahead 

Torrid history of falsifying headlines reveals a more disturbing subtext

They're bonkers! 

~

[itsnotoutthere]

"Two BBC employees, one current and one former, have become the latest to come forward with allegations against BBC presenter Huw Edwards after his identity was revealed by his wife on Wednesday.

BBC Newsnight reported new claims from staff members who said they had received “inappropriate messages” from Edwards, “some late at night and signed off with kisses”.

Both said there was “a reluctance among junior staff to complain to managers about the conduct of high-profile colleagues in case it adversely affected their careers,” Newsnight said.

The allegations are the latest aimed at the BBC’s highest-paid journalist who is receiving in-patient hospital care for “serious mental health issues”.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/celebrity/the-full-list-of-allegations-against-huw-edwards/ar-AA1dNCMq?ocid=BingHPC

[George Ford]

What I want to know is if he knew the 'victim' was a drug addict and used that to control them, also if he knew they were under 18. If so then he is basically a perverted psychopath. If on the other hand he was just horny and thought he was engaging with an adult 'onlyfans' type model then he really hasn't done anything illegal. Very stupid and selfish but not illegal. 

[pellinore]

5 hours ago, Susanc241 said:

I wouldn’t read the Sun, nor touch it with a barge pole, but don’t you think their reporting inferred a crime?  From the way third party reporting gave it, it would seem so to me.  A horrible sad mess, for everyone involved, on both sides, whatever the truth of it all.

It seems the Sun didn't abide by journalistic standards- or they did, but ignored them so they could run the story. Of course they were inferring a crime; they also didn't include in their initial reporting that the young person involved denied she or he had been a victim and didn't want to take action. They should have also reported it to the police if they thought there had been a crime- of course they might have, but decided not to include the initial police response.Questions for the Sun over BBC presenter story - BBC News

Of course, Rupert Murdoch owns the Sun, and it is no secret he want to see the end of the BBC and replace it with his TalkTV and GBNews (these are Fox-type clones with abysmal ratings and standards). Murdoch is also a major Tory donor and would happily join them in trashing all of the UK's public services. 

It has been suggested the story has been used as a "dead cat distraction", as we have local elections in a few days- the Tories are trailing in the polls and have a lot of bad and illegal news to cover up- the financial mess we are in (the only G7 country unable to get inflation down (unlike the US for example- it's still high but raising rates is working there), the small boats, Johnson refusing to give his WhatsApp messages to the Covid Inquiry as it will expose their looting of public funds in 2020 etc, etc.

 

 

 

[itsnotoutthere]

13 minutes ago, pellinore said:

It seems the Sun didn't abide by journalistic standards- or they did, but ignored them so they could run the story. Of course they were inferring a crime; they also didn't include in their initial reporting that the young person involved denied she or he had been a victim and didn't want to take action. They should have also reported it to the police if they thought there had been a crime- of course they might have, but decided not to include the initial police response.Questions for the Sun over BBC presenter story - BBC News

Of course, Rupert Murdoch owns the Sun, and it is no secret he want to see the end of the BBC and replace it with his TalkTV and GBNews (these are Fox-type clones with abysmal ratings and standards). Murdoch is also a major Tory donor and would happily join them in trashing all of the UK's public services. 

It has been suggested the story has been used as a "dead cat distraction", as we have local elections in a few days- the Tories are trailing in the polls and have a lot of bad and illegal news to cover up- the financial mess we are in (the only G7 country unable to get inflation down (unlike the US for example- it's still high but raising rates is working there), the small boats, Johnson refusing to give his WhatsApp messages to the Covid Inquiry as it will expose their looting of public funds in 2020 etc, etc.

 

 

 

By whom?

[pellinore]

3 hours ago, SHaYap said:

The Sun faces gloomy future ahead 

Torrid history of falsifying headlines reveals a more disturbing subtext

They're bonkers! 

~

The Sun could find itself on the hook for a big defamation payout. I don't read the sun (not that there is anything in it usually to read) so I didn't realise how far they had stuck their necks out:

An article online on the same day was headlined: “BBC sex probe: Top BBC star who ‘paid child for sex pictures’ could be charged by cops and face years in prison, expert says”.

The report said that the star “who is accused of paying a child for sexual photos could face criminal charges and years behind bars, an expert says”.

Reporting a claim made in The Sunday Times by a former Chief Crown Prosecutor, The Sun said the host “accused of paying a child for sexual photos could face criminal charges and years behind bars”.

How The Sun’s story on Huw Edwards changed – as tabloid finds itself in line of fire (msn.com)

Edited July 13, 2023 by pellinore

[pellinore]

44 minutes ago, itsnotoutthere said:

By whom?

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by pellinore

[OpenMindedSceptic]

What a choice to make between who told the true story... The Sun or BBC?

Are BBC now deflecting the story or was The Sun bang on the money?

Years ago, you'd just trust the BBC but not any more, they're just as bad a tabloid press with dubious verification and reporting of the facts.

 

 

[L.A.T.1961]

I find it strange that someone who considers themselves innocent of charges to then have a mental episode resulting in hospitalisation.

An innocent person would surly be anticipating the court case and huge pay out to them for deformation of character.

Not a thing to be concerned about unless the individual is worried about what to spend all the money on. 

 

[itsnotoutthere]

33 minutes ago, pellinore said:

 

Alastair Cambell?  You mean the Alistair Cambell that made up the dodgy dossier with Blair that triggered the Iraq war resulting in hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians.....that Alistair Cambell?

[itsnotoutthere]

32 minutes ago, L.A.T.1961 said:

I find it strange that someone who considers themselves innocent of charges to then have a mental episode resulting in hospitalisation.

An innocent person would surly be anticipating the court case and huge pay out to them for deformation of character.

Not a thing to be concerned about unless the individual is worried about what to spend all the money on. 

 

Well, when your wife's BBC career is on the line too, then becoming the 'victim' is probably a good strategy, & throws your employer a lifeline into the bargain.

Edited July 13, 2023 by itsnotoutthere

[SHaYap]

1 hour ago, pellinore said:

The Sun could find itself on the hook for a big defamation payout. I don't read the sun (not that there is anything in it usually to read) so I didn't realise how far they had stuck their necks out:

The Sun has been doing this for ages, not that anybody cares... Or reads any of it... I sure don't, or care to 

~

 

[Still Waters]

38 minutes ago, L.A.T.1961 said:

I find it strange that someone who considers themselves innocent of charges to then have a mental episode resulting in hospitalisation.

I don't. He has a history of mental illness. Innocent or not the publicity alone would have been enough to push him over the edge.

[itsnotoutthere]

56 minutes ago, Still Waters said:

I don't. He has a history of mental illness. Innocent or not the publicity alone would have been enough to push him over the edge.

But all of his own doing, & he may be innocent with regard to the law, but he did exchange sordid pictures with a teenager, that much is undeniable.

Edited July 13, 2023 by itsnotoutthere

[pellinore]

5 hours ago, SHaYap said:

The Sun has been doing this for ages, not that anybody cares... Or reads any of it... I sure don't, or care to 

~

 

And here's the motive behind it all:

Rupert Murdoch’s News UK has offered tens of thousands of pounds to the parents who made allegations about Huw Edwards, in return for a television interview, according to sources at the media company.

The Guardian understands that an interview with the couple has been recorded and is being edited for broadcast on TalkTV, the sister station of the Sun. Sources said the parents have been offered a significant sum for this.

Parents in Huw Edwards case ‘offered tens of thousands for TalkTV interview’ | News UK | The Guardian

This is the level of journalism you will get if Murdoch is able to further promote TalkTV and GBNews:

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by pellinore

[pellinore]

6 hours ago, OpenMindedSceptic said:

What a choice to make between who told the true story... The Sun or BBC?

If you can't answer that question yourself, you should have paid more attention in school. Seriously. It is a ridiculous question.

[SHaYap]

1 hour ago, pellinore said:

This is the level of journalism you will get if Murdoch is able to further promote TalkTV and GBNews:

Scones and crumpets if you don't mind,

now there's a jam and the butter for you ol 'chap... 

Where's a good Whig when you need one eh? 

Never mind Orwellian, how about a bit of Cromwellian I'd say... 

Do you think it will rain today? I hope not, I plan to go carpet hunting, it'll be a shame to get my brolly wet... 

Ah... Well... What do you know, there's Shakespeare, faintly as usual... 

Is that Chaucer I see bashing him on the head like Punch and Judy? What puppetry is this? 

Let's put on Arnold Layne and toss a few bitters for Syd... Good ol 'lad that he was... 

~

 

[itsnotoutthere]

 

[pellinore]

8 hours ago, itsnotoutthere said:

 

Exactly! Dreadful, isn't it? It isn't reporting, it is weird opinion. It demonstrates why GBN has escaped Ofcom's rules on news, because it clearly isn't. Gutter press personified.

[pellinore]

8 hours ago, SHaYap said:

Scones and crumpets if you don't mind,

now there's a jam and the butter for you ol 'chap... 

Where's a good Whig when you need one eh? 

Never mind Orwellian, how about a bit of Cromwellian I'd say... 

Do you think it will rain today? I hope not, I plan to go carpet hunting, it'll be a shame to get my brolly wet... 

Ah... Well... What do you know, there's Shakespeare, faintly as usual... 

Is that Chaucer I see bashing him on the head like Punch and Judy? What puppetry is this? 

Let's put on Arnold Layne and toss a few bitters for Syd... Good ol 'lad that he was... 

~

 

What does this mean? I can see it is clever parody, but a bit too clever for me. Are you mocking me, or siding with my views?

[SHaYap]

1 minute ago, pellinore said:

Are you mocking me, or siding with my views?

I know nothing to side with and besides, the mocking has no views either ... 

~

 

[itsnotoutthere]

18 hours ago, OpenMindedSceptic said:

What a choice to make between who told the true story... The Sun or BBC?

Are BBC now deflecting the story or was The Sun bang on the money?

Years ago, you'd just trust the BBC but not any more, they're just as bad a tabloid press with dubious verification and reporting of the facts.

 

 

Exactly this.

Today's BBC is just the left in Islington talking to itself. I doubt anyone who works there ever steps outside of the M25 except to holiday in the south of France.

 

Edited July 14, 2023 by itsnotoutthere