NEWS / REPORTING ON CHILDREN: PCC upholds complaints against two local papers over photograph of children (UK)

The Press Complaints Commission has upheld complaints against the Nottingham Evening Post and the Leicester Mercury under Clause 6 (Children) of the Editors' Code of Practice.

The complainant was the mother of a primary school child who had been on a school trip when the bus she was travelling on crashed into a railway bridge. A photograph published by the two newspapers showed the complainant's daughter and other children being comforted by a policeman at the scene of the accident. The complainant said that the appearance of the image, which was taken and published without her consent, had caused her daughter further upset.

Both newspapers said that they had considered whether or not to publish the photograph very carefully, but that ultimately, they believed it to be justified in the public interest. Additionally, the Leicester Mercury argued that publication would not have had an impact on the welfare of the children involved, while the Nottingham Evening Post argued that the lack of any serious injuries or fatalities had been an important factor in its decision to go ahead and publish.

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