The Sun has invaded Fraser Brown's privacy again - please complain to the PCC

[theBurd]

Some of us are unhappy that the Sun not only breached Gordon Brown's privacy in 2006 when publishing details of his medical condition, but have done so a second time when repeating the story to rebut Gordon Brown's allegations.

It is supremely ironic that the Sun has provided anonymity to protect the identity of the person purporting to have passed information about Fraser Brown, who was then four months old, but did not respect his.

If you agree that it is unacceptable for a newspaper to intrude on a child's privacy in such a manner please complain to the PCC. The relevant clauses that have been breached are clause 3 (i) respect for private life and health and clause 6 (v) Editors must not use the fame, notoriety or position of a parent or guardian as sole justification for publishing details of a child?s private life.

The PCC usually only investigates complaints if you have a direct relationship with the story but I would contend that we all have a responsibility to protect children - imagine if someone did that to your child, published intimate details of his or her medical condition on the front page of a newspaper.

And if you want to read more of my opinion about this issue please go to this blog article - I'm not a journalist, not paid, just a citizen blogger. www.heraldscotland.com/bloggers/kate-higgins/the-sun-should-stop-fighting-over-little-fraser-brown-1.1111873

Thank you.

And if you will do that to your own family, what will you do to people who aren't even related to you?

Hmm. Would these be the same Mr and Mrs Brown who went on TV and cried right on cue for the camera about their dead daughter? When things were looking bad for him politically?

Unless you keep your children completely under wraps and never even mention their names, this is the kind of thing that happens. And it seems that they did know that the story would run, but did nothing at the time.

Not much sympathy for anyone involved in this mucky business...

smallwhitecat I agree that Brown should have said something as soon as he found out, which could have been from the off. I don't know why he didn't. Cowardice, I expect.

But I don't understand why he is being held to a higher standard of behaviour or morals than The Sun. I also don't understand why the Sun should get off the hook because Brown didn't say anything earlier.

Araz maybe at the time of Jennifer's death the Browns thought it was a nice gesture to invite people who'd published such lovely things about them.

It's not unknown for bereaved parents to trust seemingly concerned journalists. Sara Payne did it. Was she showing disrespect to Sarah then? Is she showing disrespect now for refusing to address the extreme probability that her phone was hacked and for not condemning Rebekah Brooks now she knows what kind of person she is?

What a bizzare thing to say youonlygetonelife.

If you were one of the most famous people in the country and your wife was pregnant, gave birth, then you walked out of the hospital without a child, the world would drop their jaw in shock and demand an explanation. Any parent whose child dies in those circumstances deserves our pity, not accusations of "crying on command". I rather think they were crying all the time and were fighting to keep their grief under wraps while in the glare of the media spotlight.

The gutter press Sun, however, having always had it in for GB, possibly because he wasn't right wing enough for them, have done everything they could do to discredit him. Most of the stories and impressions we get of "Brown the bully" come from the Sun in the first place.

Nothing, nothing justifies releasing confidential details of a child's illness to the public. Everything the Sun is saying at the moment is simply bluster to try and cover up the fact taht their years of deciet and political blackmail have come back and bitten them in the arse.

No, nothing justifies it. It's despicable. If it's true that another parent gave The Sun the information I don't know how that person sleeps at night.

I'm not disputing either that the Browns were grieving, or that it had to be in the news. But they didn't have to talk to Piers Morgan about it, several years after the fact, during an election campaign.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1251101/Gordon-Browns-excruciating-TV-interview-Piers-Morgan.html

They've invaded their own privacy, and their other children's, by playing along with this ridiculous political culture that is interested in politicians private lives.

(Apologies for the daily fail link but the only other one I could find was sky news

I agree I think the little boy was done a great disservice by all of them. Esp his mum who wined and dined RB to get her dh's foot in the door of No10. I would never sell my ds down the river like that no matter what dp's ambitions were. The Piers Morgan interview was PR tastic GB liked the publicity when he needed it.

I have found the lack of knowledge about the personal circumstances that would have been surrounding this a bit bogglesome really. Their child would have been diagnosed with a genetically inherited disease, one which is utimately fatal. They may have chosen not to tell their son of this until many years down the line and also they may have chosen not to tell Fraser's brother also, until he was old enough to understand. With a recessive condition such as cystic fibrosis, news will also affect the wider family and this would have had to have been done sensitively as many of the wider family may find or have now found themselves to be genetic carriers of the condition too. It is a very complex situation but any decisions were taken out of their hands and I find it absolutely gobsmacking that it is just treated as a political issue in the press, but also on a parenting website in lots of opinions. The far reaching consequences of The Sun making such a decision for some, be it the PM or not, is absolutely disgraceful and lacks any kind of maturity, sensitivity and lacks any kind of moral code. I am quite aghast by it all tbh.

I think the answer to the op is

Nobody's particularly interested in GB&SB
They come across as a pair of revolting frauds in the way they have treated their children's privacy over the years
GBs whining over the last few days comes across particularly poorly

So maybe next time try a less repellent cause when you are trying to raise yor personal/blogging profile, this one is a bit of a mistake.

I nipped out to get some shopping and was going to reply to your astoundingly mean post on my return youonlygetonelife.

But slug said all I meant to say. The only thing I'd add is to point out that you should check your facts.

At the time of Jennifer's death things were not 'looking bad' for Gordon Brown politically. He was riding extremely high and being credited by the papers with having helped win a second term for Labour because of his sure handling of the economy. That's not my verdict, that was The Sun's and others.

Conversely the Tories under Hague, Duncan-Smith and Howard were being slaughtered by those papers. I make no judgement about either of those things apart from that they happen to be true.

And the only time I can recall seeing the Browns' children on display was when their sons accompanied their father to Buckingham Palace on the day he left office.

Nb, I should think the above post will last a short time only, so read it while it's fresh

Sarah Payne had not worked her whole life in PR.

Oh dear op never made it back

Can't have been that important then

I am dismayed by the vitriol on this thread against Gordon and Sarah Brown. They have three children. one of whom never left hospital and they have only a grave to remember her with and another who has a life limiting illness. Cystic fibrosis patients have a restricted life span, often a reduced quality of life because of illness and fertility issues.
The only decent way to react to them as parents (NOT public figures - you can think what you like about the public role) is to either off support or say nothing. Truly if you can't say anything nice then do shut up!

Really?
No tongue in that cheek at all?
Nobody to say nuffing about GB &SB unless it's 'nice'

hahahahahahahhahahaha
Good one

Oh what a lovely individual you are! How special and clever you must be to attack bereaved and distressed parents. Wow, I wish you lived next door to me and we could have tea and cake every afternoon whilst scouring the web for suffering parents to berate.

Yes my tongue is in my cheek for that post - for the first time on this thread.

smallwhitecat I've been a tabloid journalist. I'm not scum and neither were many of my colleagues. But you've only got my word for it and it's easier to run with stereotypes. I'm not asking for your sympathy btw, just expecting you, like me, to have a bit of imagination.

I don't expect decency from Brown but I repeat: I don't see why he shouldn't want revenge and I don't think we should deflect criticism from the people at NI and other news organisations by talking about decency and whether people have the right to complain or whether there's a statute of limitations on calling appalling and possibily criminal behaviour.

That smacks of good victims vs bad victims, which as a tabloid journalist, I know all about. I'm fascinated that you want to make the distinction too.

arazmataz and others on this thread: I am dismayed that none of you can get your heads round the fact that no matter how famous or powerful you are, if your child dies that's the end of the bit of your world that you've seen but will never get back. No matter whether you like Gordon Brown or not, in this respect he is no different to anyone else. So can we mind his grief, please?

And it's Sara Payne who isn't a PR btw. Sarah was her daughter. Sarah Brown is indeed a PR - as if it makes a blind bit of difference to the actions of a bereaved mother. Please get your facts straight before commenting again.

keep going

let's see how long you can stay on that high horse, maybe you'll get a small prize, or perhaps an award for misguided self righteousness?

I'm sure Gordon & Sarah would be most impressed. But you'll still be a rank amateur in comparison to them.

I wish I could admire you too smallwhitecat. Luckily my career has accustomed me to constant disappointment.

Such a pity Gordon Brown has never been in, like, a position of power or something so he might have been able to tackle the excesses of the press.

"The Press Complaints Commission has said that it has no record of receiving any contact from Brown over this matter. "
www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=47489

"Most of the stories and impressions we get of "Brown the bully" come from the Sun in the first place."

Complete and utter BO*CKS!! It is well documented that Brown is a bully with deep psychological flaws - see books by Campbell, Mandelson, Blair, Andrew Rawlings, Peter Watt, Chris Mullins and others. In fact, I've yet to read a book about the last Labour Government that claims otherwise.

Agree with slug and northernlurker the viciousness of some of these posts towards these parents who have suffered a great deal is shocking.

I believe the image many people have of GB is the one the gutter press want us to have so is likely not accurate anyway.

Amazing that Mumsnet were so strict on threads about the McCanns using the reasoning that they are grieving parents and this is a site for parents to support others, etc, etc yet GB and SB who have also lost a child can be vilified as bad parents.

I don't think all journalists are scum but some certainly are and they inspire scummy behaviour in others who sell stories, kiss and tell, etc. The parent who leaked this one should be totally utterly ashamed, maybe someone should leak their name and see how they like it!

We all know the saying "all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing", this is not a time for any of us to sit back and do nothing. A free, yet responsible, press is IMO essential for a healthy democracy

I think if you live in the public eye then this is what happens.

I understand they feel their privacy was invaded but he should have shouted about it at the time.

On the spin side of the coin a parent in much less fortunate circumstances than the Browns mat have a child with C.F and feel she is not alone - when my son was diagnosed with asthma I was told Ian Botham has it and it helped me see we werent the only ones.

Incidentally I didnt discover that the son had this genetic illness from the tabloids I realised when it was highlighted on mumsnet when we discussed Sarah Browns dress when Gordon Brown was 'in'.