'Sun' guilty of breaching privacy code

THE Press Complaints Commission has ruled that the Sun newspaper was wrong to publish the address of the Oxfordshire cottage owned by Alice Straw, wife of the Labour politician Jack Straw.

Mr Straw had complained of an invasion of privacy and a threat to the family's security. The article, showing the picturesque thatched cottage, was published on 1 April.

The cottage was burgled on the night of the general election, 9 April. Mr Straw told police investigating the crime that publishing the address was an open invitation to burgle on that date.

In an adjudication published yesterday, the commission says the newspaper breached Clause Four of the press code of conduct, governing privacy.

It says that even though the addresses of prominent people are well known and publicly recorded, 'there remains a commonsense obligation upon editors to avoid endangering families by publishing their exact address unless they constitute an essential part of the story'.

The commission holds its monthly meeting today and will discuss a review of the privacy part of the code.