- Target:
- The Press Complaints Commission
- Region:
- United Kingdom
- Website:
- www.dailymail.co.uk
On Thursday 26 February 2009, several UK national tabloids, including the Daily Mail, the Mirror and the Sun, published images of David and Samantha Cameron returning, grieving to their home just hours after their son had died. The photographs were taken close-up and clearly show their faces.
Whilst it is impossible to legislate against the taking of such insensitive and tasteless images, it is the assertion of this petition that newspapers that published these images, especially those which published them so prominently, are responsible for not only a breach of a moral code but of the human rights of grieving parents to grieve in peace.
The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) has stated that they will generally not investigate complaints from third parties. However, they will waive this in exceptional circumstances or if there is a public interest angle to the complaint.
The PCC have absolute authority over which complaints they will investigate, so perhaps if we can show them that these images have caused offence to much of the public, we can persuade them to pursue this further.
There is also an active Facebook Group should you wish to join it:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=54805431505
We, the undersigned, urge the Press Complaints Commission to investigate the publishing of images of David and Samantha Cameron returning home from the hospital following the death of their son, Ivan.
We believe that the publishing of these images was morally repugnant and breached their rights to a private grief in the most tragic of circumstances.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Photographs of the grieving Camerons should not be in UK newspapers petition to The Press Complaints Commission was written by Jo Chambers and is in the category Human Rights at GoPetition.