The Sun responds to letter from CMS committee

Dame Caroline Dinenage MP 

Member of Parliament for Gosport 

Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee 

House of Commons 

London 

SW1A 0AA 

Tuesday, 25 July 2023 

Dear Dame Caroline, 

Thank you for your letter dated 24 July 2023. 

You have requested information on the editorial processes in relation to the Huw  Edwards publications in The Sun on behalf of the members of your Committee. The  Sun is a responsible media organization which has strict editorial and legal  frameworks in place so as to ensure that articles are accurate and lawful. 

This story was the subject of significant scrutiny pre-publication. The Sun has  documentary evidence and had conducted interviews with many of the primary  witnesses. We sought comment prior to publication from the BBC and its presenter.  In depth considerations were made around the privacy and public interest  justifications for publishing the story. The matter is and remains deeply sensitive and  the decision was made not to name any of those involved nor give any detail which  may identify them. 

One of those involved is one of the most trusted and well-known television  journalists, who has since been named by his family, and the other is a vulnerable  young person with an addiction to crack cocaine. We had safeguarding  responsibilities on behalf of both of these people and took great care with our  reporting. At no point have we identified the gender of the young person, which the  BBC has done on more than one occasion. 

In itself, maintaining this anonymity made the amount of evidence which could be  published more challenging. We have since provided significant further evidence to  the BBC to assist their investigation.

The parents had previously sought a resolution to the situation by complaining to the  BBC. No action had been taken in response to their complaint and they turned to The  Sun. Tim Davie himself has acknowledged that it was ‘clearly a serious allegation’. It  is now a matter for the BBC to rigorously investigate this complaint and the others  which have also now emerged. The BBC must report back transparently on the  findings of their investigation. 

The questions raised about our reporting have come in particular from the BBC itself  as well as a small group of anti-press campaigners who have sought to misrepresent  our reporting or use selective extracts. The vulnerability and drug addiction of the  young person is also frequently omitted. We have sought to correct the reporting or  commenting of opinion formers along the way. 

Legal oversight and verification 

The story had significant pre-publication legal oversight, as any story of that nature  would do. 

As a publisher, we are subject to IPSO regulation, and a legal space in libel, privacy  and data protection that is tougher and more complex than it has ever been. Court  decisions have developed over time and require careful case by case analysis of  evidence, the balance around free speech, privacy and public interest as well as data  protection matters.  

The Sun has in-house lawyers with vast experience in this area and with access to  experienced external advice, including in this case a KC. This experience was  brought to bear in this case. Affidavits were obtained from key witnesses before  publication, with corroborative evidence. Further comment would encroach into  editorial decision making and legal privilege and extend beyond proper enquiry by  parliament into a free press. 

We stand by our reporting which is subject to law and regulatory oversight. 

Additionally, we have handed over relevant material to the BBC’s Corporate  Investigations Team which supports and corroborates our reporting of the original  story. This material includes a significant number of texts, social media messages  and pictures. We are in ongoing contact with them. 

Dan Wootton

On Mr Wootton we are investigating relevant matters raised by reports by Byline  Times and The Guardian last week. We have appointed Kingsley Napley to assist.  We take these allegations seriously but we are in no position to comment further and  indeed we make no commitment to make any further comment depending on the  outcome of our investigation. 

Yours sincerely, 

Victoria Newton 

Editor-in-Chief, The Sun