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| Sunday Mirror chief apologises for use of women’s photos in sex sting | Sunday Mirror chief apologises for use of women’s photos in sex sting |
| (7 days later) | |
| The editor-in-chief of the Sunday Mirror has apologised to two women for the unauthorised use of their pictures in a sting that prompted the Conservative MP Brooks Newmark to resign as civil society minister. | The editor-in-chief of the Sunday Mirror has apologised to two women for the unauthorised use of their pictures in a sting that prompted the Conservative MP Brooks Newmark to resign as civil society minister. |
| Lloyd Embley said the newspaper stood by the story by a freelance reporter who used a photograph of Malin Sahlén, a Swedish model, for a fictional Twitter account claiming to be a Tory PR woman named “Sophie Wittams”. Last night the media commentator Steve Hewlett said on BBC’s Newsnight that the reporter responsible for the sting was Alex Wickham, who writes for the Guido Fawkes blog. | |
| The reporter posed as Wittams and exchanged messages with several Tory MPs before convincing Newmark to swap numbers and share explicit pictures of himself. | |
| Embley said there was a “clear public interest” because of Newmark’s roles as minister for civil society and co-founder of Women2Win – an organisation aimed at attracting more Conservative women to parliament – but added that the investigation had been carried out before the Sunday Mirror’s involvement. | Embley said there was a “clear public interest” because of Newmark’s roles as minister for civil society and co-founder of Women2Win – an organisation aimed at attracting more Conservative women to parliament – but added that the investigation had been carried out before the Sunday Mirror’s involvement. |
| “We thought that pictures used by the investigation were posed by models, but we now know that some real pictures were used. At no point has the Sunday Mirror published any of these images, but we would like to apologise to the women involved for their use in the investigation,” said the editor-in-chief of both titles. | “We thought that pictures used by the investigation were posed by models, but we now know that some real pictures were used. At no point has the Sunday Mirror published any of these images, but we would like to apologise to the women involved for their use in the investigation,” said the editor-in-chief of both titles. |
| Charlene Tyler, 26, from Boston, Lincolnshire,whose “sunbathing selfie” was used in the sting, wanted to tell her side of the story and would be featured in this week’s Sunday Mirror. | Charlene Tyler, 26, from Boston, Lincolnshire,whose “sunbathing selfie” was used in the sting, wanted to tell her side of the story and would be featured in this week’s Sunday Mirror. |
| She told the Daily Telegraph on Monday it was quite wrong for the paper to have used her photo without permission, but that Newmark had done nothing wrong. | She told the Daily Telegraph on Monday it was quite wrong for the paper to have used her photo without permission, but that Newmark had done nothing wrong. |
| “I think grown adults can do whatever they like as long as both of them are over the age of consent,” she said. “I don’t think it’s something to resign over.” | “I think grown adults can do whatever they like as long as both of them are over the age of consent,” she said. “I don’t think it’s something to resign over.” |
| The Sunday Mirror’s leading rival, the Sun newspaper, confirmed it had turned down the story. | The Sunday Mirror’s leading rival, the Sun newspaper, confirmed it had turned down the story. |
| She added: “I hope the MP is OK. It makes me feel really awful that this will ruin his life. The fact that a newspaper was stealing my photograph is quite wrong. The newspaper’s taken it too far.” | She added: “I hope the MP is OK. It makes me feel really awful that this will ruin his life. The fact that a newspaper was stealing my photograph is quite wrong. The newspaper’s taken it too far.” |
| Meanwhile, Sahlén said she felt shocked and exploited by the unauthorised use of her picture in the sting. | Meanwhile, Sahlén said she felt shocked and exploited by the unauthorised use of her picture in the sting. |
| She told the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet: “I do not want to be exploited in this way and that someone has used my image like this feels really awful, both for me and the others involved in this.” | She told the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet: “I do not want to be exploited in this way and that someone has used my image like this feels really awful, both for me and the others involved in this.” |
| The model said the photograph of her was three years old and that she had previously reported several fake Facebook accounts for using her image. | The model said the photograph of her was three years old and that she had previously reported several fake Facebook accounts for using her image. |
| “I am shocked and it is unpleasant for someone to use the picture without permission.” | “I am shocked and it is unpleasant for someone to use the picture without permission.” |
| The other MPs targeted in the sting included Mark Pritchard, Tory MP for The Wrekin in Shropshire, who said on Monday that he would contact Scotland Yard and make a formal complaint to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) over accusations of entrapment. | The other MPs targeted in the sting included Mark Pritchard, Tory MP for The Wrekin in Shropshire, who said on Monday that he would contact Scotland Yard and make a formal complaint to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) over accusations of entrapment. |
| “It is in the public interest that their actions are fully investigated. This is the first real test as to whether the new body, Ipso, has any teeth,” he said. | “It is in the public interest that their actions are fully investigated. This is the first real test as to whether the new body, Ipso, has any teeth,” he said. |
| John Wittingdale, the chairman of the Commons media select committee, said on Monday he believed Ipso should investigate. | John Wittingdale, the chairman of the Commons media select committee, said on Monday he believed Ipso should investigate. |
| • This article was amended on Monday 6 October 2014 to correct the spelling of the fictitious Sophie Wittams. |