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Sunday Mirror must answer for MP sexting story – Nicky Morgan Sunday Mirror must answer for MP sexting story – Nicky Morgan
(about 1 hour later)
Nicky Morgan, the women’s minister, has criticised the Sunday Mirror for trying to get male MPs to hand over sexually explicit pictures of themselves using photographs of women taken from social media without their consent.Nicky Morgan, the women’s minister, has criticised the Sunday Mirror for trying to get male MPs to hand over sexually explicit pictures of themselves using photographs of women taken from social media without their consent.
Speaking at a fringe event at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham, Morgan said the newspaper must think about its conduct after it ran a story from a freelance reporter who used the photographs to create a fake identity as a young female Tory activist.Speaking at a fringe event at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham, Morgan said the newspaper must think about its conduct after it ran a story from a freelance reporter who used the photographs to create a fake identity as a young female Tory activist.
The reporter, who used the alias Sophie Wittams, contacted several male Conservative MPs and got a response from Brooks Newmark, a married minister who eventually sent an explicit picture of himself. He resigned his post on Saturday.The reporter, who used the alias Sophie Wittams, contacted several male Conservative MPs and got a response from Brooks Newmark, a married minister who eventually sent an explicit picture of himself. He resigned his post on Saturday.
Morgan, who as education secretary is one of the most senior women in government, said: “It is not right that photos are taken without consent from anybody … There is also the broader issue of this story and the fact there was a paper that seemed to be out to target a particular group of men. They will have to answer, I’m afraid, and I think there are regulations affecting that.Morgan, who as education secretary is one of the most senior women in government, said: “It is not right that photos are taken without consent from anybody … There is also the broader issue of this story and the fact there was a paper that seemed to be out to target a particular group of men. They will have to answer, I’m afraid, and I think there are regulations affecting that.
“In relation to my own colleague Brooks Newmark, he was right to resign and he did that quickly … I think people realise this is one person who has made a big mistake and has paid for it massively … People appreciate that we are all flawed human beings. The paper will have to think about their conduct.”“In relation to my own colleague Brooks Newmark, he was right to resign and he did that quickly … I think people realise this is one person who has made a big mistake and has paid for it massively … People appreciate that we are all flawed human beings. The paper will have to think about their conduct.”
Several Conservative MPs contacted by the undercover reporter have complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso), which is now considering accusations that the Sunday Mirror used entrapment. One of those, Mark Pritchard, has also complained to the Metropolitan police.Several Conservative MPs contacted by the undercover reporter have complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso), which is now considering accusations that the Sunday Mirror used entrapment. One of those, Mark Pritchard, has also complained to the Metropolitan police.
John Whittingdale, the chairman of the Commons media committee, said on Monday that he believed Ipso should investigate.John Whittingdale, the chairman of the Commons media committee, said on Monday that he believed Ipso should investigate.
He told the BBC’s World at One that the Newmark case “does raise serious questions about whether it was a legitimate use of subterfuge”, suggesting he was yet to be convinced that it passed the public interest test.He told the BBC’s World at One that the Newmark case “does raise serious questions about whether it was a legitimate use of subterfuge”, suggesting he was yet to be convinced that it passed the public interest test.
Ipso was set up by some newspapers, excluding the Guardian, FT and Independent, after the failure of its predecessor, the Press Complaints Commission, to respond to allegations of phone hacking at the News of the World.
One of the chief differences between Ipso and the much-maligned PCC was that the new regulator could launch proactive investigations into possible wrongdoing. It had not done so by the time Pritchard tweeted his complaint 24 hours after the results of the Mirror sting operation was published late on Saturday.
The editor of the Sunday Mirror, Alison Phillips, has stoutly defended the publication of the article as being “wholly in the public interest”.The editor of the Sunday Mirror, Alison Phillips, has stoutly defended the publication of the article as being “wholly in the public interest”.
Phillips’ defence came as the Mirror’s leading rival, the Sun newspaper, confirmed that it had turned down the story. In making the decision the Sun’s news editors are understood to have contacted Stig Abell, the former director of the Press Complaints Commission who is now managing editor of the Sun.
Although the Sun refused to talk about the reasons for the refusal to publish, editors there were understood to be concerned about the use of photos and also whether entrapment could be proved.
Phillips denied that the sting, which involved a freelance male reporter pretending to be a young woman in tweets to several Tory MPs, was a “fishing expedition”.
“We have a man who was a minister of state sending explicit messages to someone he believed was a 21-year-old intern desperate to get into politics,” Phillips said. “That’s wholly inappropriate and wholly in the public interest.”
After the paper was approached by the unidentified reporter just over a week prior to publication this weekend, Phillips said she set two seasoned reporters on the case who spent a “huge amount of time thinking about this story”.
She added: “We are seriously mindful of the Ipso code. It’s at the forefront of our minds in every single story that goes into the Sunday Mirror ... this was not a fishing expedition.”