Careless Talk, Loses Many Things

19 June 2012

SOCA sued over Sun 'paedophile leak'

"A retired musician who won damages from The Sun after being branded a paedophile is now taking on the Serious and Organised Crime Agency.

GG says The Sun wrongly claimed he was a paedophile [really?] who had been deported from Thailand after SOCA supplied the paper with his name and passport photo.

The article led him to fear for his life, he says, claiming the allegation was untrue and that he was deported from Thailand in July 2010 after being convicted of remaining in the country without a valid visa.

Sun publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN) later accepted the allegation was untrue and agreed to publish a correction and pay “substantial” damages to G.

He is now suing SOCA for damages of £50,000 and wants to make a statement in open court claiming the organisation breached his human rights.

The March 2011 story – headlined “Smashed: World’s biggest paedo ring” [sic] – claimed he had been arrested by the Operation Rescue investigation into child sex offences.

G, 67, says SOCA’s actions caused him significant distress, anxiety and humiliation.

In a High Court writ, he claims a police officer from SOCA acted without checking the accuracy of the claims and that the body failed to appropriately respond to his complaint.

SOCA replied to his solicitors in March 2012 saying he had recently been charged with possessing indecent images, and querying how these criminal proceedings would impact on his civil claim.

G says he had not been charged with any offence, and that the suggestion he had been was extremely upsetting and distressing. SOCA, he argues, has never apologised or retracted the allegations."

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=49514&c=1

Sun pays damages to musician over 'paedo ring' story

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=48231&c=1

The Sun pays damages over false child sex offence claim

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/11/sun-damages-false-child-sex-claim

The Sun pays out over paedophile slur

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/the-sun-pays-out-over-paedophile-slur-16076481.html

The Sun newspaper fined after wrongly calling Liverpool musician a paedophile

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/11/12/the-sun-newspaper-fined-after-wrongly-calling-liverpool-musician-a-paedophile-100252-29762307/

Published: 06 Jan 2012

"GG - apology

ON 17 March, 2011, we wrongly reported that GG was deported from Thailand for child sex offences as part of an international investigation.

We sincerely [sic] apologise to him for this error and the distress caused."

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4042556/GG-apology.html

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Comment:

Guess who the architect of this story was?

Yes, of course, Mr Anthony France, again, with Ms Keenan's assistance (yes, The OSC gets a mention).

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