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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Brooks Newmark Sunday Mirror story prompts MP's complaint | Brooks Newmark Sunday Mirror story prompts MP's complaint |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| An MP is to make a formal complaint against the Sunday Mirror over a story that led to the resignation of a government minister. | An MP is to make a formal complaint against the Sunday Mirror over a story that led to the resignation of a government minister. |
| Conservative Mark Pritchard said "questionable techniques" were involved in the paper's report that Brooks Newmark sent explicit pictures of himself to an undercover journalist. | Conservative Mark Pritchard said "questionable techniques" were involved in the paper's report that Brooks Newmark sent explicit pictures of himself to an undercover journalist. |
| Mr Newmark resigned after the sting, saying he had been a "complete fool". | Mr Newmark resigned after the sting, saying he had been a "complete fool". |
| The Sunday Mirror said that the story was in the public interest. | The Sunday Mirror said that the story was in the public interest. |
| The paper said it had made contact with Mr Newmark during the course of an investigation into inappropriate use of social media by MPs. | The paper said it had made contact with Mr Newmark during the course of an investigation into inappropriate use of social media by MPs. |
| 'Swapped images' | 'Swapped images' |
| Adopting the false identity of "Sophie Wittams", a male freelance reporter described himself on Twitter as a "twenty-something Tory PR girl". | Adopting the false identity of "Sophie Wittams", a male freelance reporter described himself on Twitter as a "twenty-something Tory PR girl". |
| "Sophie" then contacted and interacted with a number of Conservative MPs, including Mr Pritchard, via the social networking site. | "Sophie" then contacted and interacted with a number of Conservative MPs, including Mr Pritchard, via the social networking site. |
| The Twitter account has since been deleted, although some of the reporter's activity is still available online. | The Twitter account has since been deleted, although some of the reporter's activity is still available online. |
| BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said there was no evidence that any MP, apart from Mr Newmark, had acted inappropriately in response to the flattering messages sent to them from the fictional Ms Wittams. | BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said there was no evidence that any MP, apart from Mr Newmark, had acted inappropriately in response to the flattering messages sent to them from the fictional Ms Wittams. |
| In its account of the online exchanges between the reporter and Mr Newmark, the Sunday Mirror said the pair "swapped sexually explicit images". | In its account of the online exchanges between the reporter and Mr Newmark, the Sunday Mirror said the pair "swapped sexually explicit images". |
| Mr Pritchard, MP for The Wrekin, in Shropshire, told the BBC he would be writing a "formal complaint" to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) "about the Sunday Mirror's questionable techniques". | |
| "It is in the public interest that their actions are fully investigated," he said. | "It is in the public interest that their actions are fully investigated," he said. |
| "This is the first real test as to whether the new body, IPSO, has any teeth." | "This is the first real test as to whether the new body, IPSO, has any teeth." |
| IPSO came into being earlier this month, replacing the defunct Press Complaints Commission. | IPSO came into being earlier this month, replacing the defunct Press Complaints Commission. |
| It was set up by most major newspapers, including the Mirror titles, to investigate complaints from the public in the wake of phone hacking and the Leveson inquiry into the practices and ethics of the industry. | It was set up by most major newspapers, including the Mirror titles, to investigate complaints from the public in the wake of phone hacking and the Leveson inquiry into the practices and ethics of the industry. |
| Its editors' code of practice states: "Engaging in misrepresentation or subterfuge, including by agents or intermediaries, can generally be justified only in the public interest and then only when the material cannot be obtained by other means." | Its editors' code of practice states: "Engaging in misrepresentation or subterfuge, including by agents or intermediaries, can generally be justified only in the public interest and then only when the material cannot be obtained by other means." |
| Alison Phillips, the Mirror's weekend editor, told the Guardian newspaper: "This investigation was brought to the Sunday Mirror by a freelance reporter. | Alison Phillips, the Mirror's weekend editor, told the Guardian newspaper: "This investigation was brought to the Sunday Mirror by a freelance reporter. |
| "The investigation, which had a clear public interest, was carried out following information from a reliable source." | "The investigation, which had a clear public interest, was carried out following information from a reliable source." |
| A spokesman for IPSO told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "We will consider any complaints about the story that are submitted." | A spokesman for IPSO told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "We will consider any complaints about the story that are submitted." |