Associated Newspapers fined over pixelated photograph
ASSOCIATED Newspapers pleaded guilty yesterday to inadvertently identifying a man who claims to be the victim of a VIP child sex ring.
The publisher of the Daily Mail and MailOnline accepted that detail in an article could have led readers to identify the man, known only as ‘Nick’.
His lurid claims led to the creation of Operation Midland, the Scotland Yard inquiry into allegations of an Establishment paedophile ring.
Several high-profile figures, including Lord Bramall, the late Lord Brittan and former MP Harvey Proctor were questioned by police, causing anguish to their families.
The article, published last September and headlined ‘Nick – victim or fantasist?’, raised serious questions over the way Operation Midland was conducted, and included a pixelated photograph of the man and some personal details.
Although the court heard that Nick told police no-one had identified him from the article, he complained that it could enable someone to identify him.
At Westminster Magistrates’ Court yesterday, Associated Newspapers admitted two offences under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, under which it is against the law to
‘We believe in the rule of law’
reveal the identity of anyone who has complained to police of being the victim of a sexual assault, and was fined £40,000. The company was also ordered to pay ‘Nick’ compensation of £2,000.
Passing sentence, Deputy Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot said the article was in the public interest, but more care should have been taken to protect ‘Nick’s’ identity.
‘The offence is serious and I am particularly concerned about the damage to public confidence that complainants’ identities will be protected,’ she said.
Speaking in mitigation for Associated Newspapers, Clare Montgomery QC said: ‘The personal information was not there gratuitously to identify “Nick”.’ She said the article contained information to enable the public to understand the context of the claims he was making.
Operation Midland was abandoned in March with no charges being brought amid controversy over its cost and how it was handled.
A spokesman for Associated Newspapers said last night: ‘We believe emphatically in the rule of law, and regret that on this occasion we judged incorrectly where the line should be drawn.
‘This prosecution follows the closure of Operation Midland, which was robustly criticised by the Daily Mail and MailOnline.
‘It is an extraordinary irony that the only conviction to result from this sorry episode, which caused such pain to Lord Brittan and his widow, and to Lord Bramall and his late wife, is against a media organisation which reported it with the objectivity so lacking in police enquiries.’