PCC criticises Dunblane article

The shooting took place at Dunblane Primary School

The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) has criticised the Scottish Sunday Express for intruding into the private lives of Dunblane massacre survivors.

In March, the paper published an article claiming that some of those who lived through the 1996 shooting had shamed the memory of those who died.

It used photos and details from social networking sites to claim they boasted about sex, fights and drinking.

The PCC ruled that was a "fundamental failure" to respect private lives.

Sixteen children and their teacher were killed when gunman Thomas Hamilton went into Dunblane Primary School on 13 March, 1996, and opened fire. He then shot himself.

The parents of the boys involved in the Sunday Express story complained that the newspaper was wrong to identify their children as Dunblane survivors and publish information about their private lives.

Publication represented a serious error of judgement on the part of the newspaper PCC ruling

A petition against the paper's actions was signed by 11,000 people.

The newspaper later published an apology about the tone of the article, but claimed that the identities of the survivors had been published before and that the pictures and information were found on publicly-accessible websites.

However the PCC ruled: "The images appeared to have been taken out of context and presented in a way that was designed to humiliate or embarrass them.

"Even if the images were available freely online, the way they were used - when there was no particular reason for the boys to be in the news - represented a fundamental failure to respect their private lives.

"Publication represented a serious error of judgement on the part of the newspaper."

'New guidance'

It added: "Although the editor had taken steps to resolve the complaint, and rightly published an apology, the breach of the code was so serious that no apology could remedy it."

The watchdog also urged journalists to be wary when reproducing images and information from networking sites like Facebook and issued new guidance.

It said it can be acceptable to publish such information, but only when a person might expect media scrutiny or has come to public attention through their own actions.

The PCC said privacy settings can provide protection, and journalists who get round them must justify their actions in the public interest.