There have been renewed calls to boycott The Sun newspaper after England cricketer Ben Stokes described a front-page article about a family tragedy 31 years ago as “disgusting” and “immoral”.
“Today the Sun has seen fit to publish extremely painful, sensitive and personal details concerning events in the private lives of my family, going back more than 31 years,” he wrote on Twitter, after the tabloid’s revealed that his half-brother and sister were shot dead in 1988.
“It is hard to find words that adequately describe such low and despicable behaviour, disguised as journalism. I cannot conceive of anything more immoral, heartless or contemptuous to the feelings and circumstances of my family,” continued Stokes, the favourite to be named BBC Sports Personality of the Year after his starring role in England’s World Cup victory this summer.
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Following his statement, he received widespread support online, with the hashtag #dontbuythesun quickly trending on Twitter. The calls for a boycott conjured memories of when the tabloid faced the wrath of Merseyside for its insensitive reporting of the Hillsborough disaster.
Hacked Off, which campaigns for media accountability, told The Guardian: “This is an appalling invasion of privacy with no public interest justification. We have been told repeatedly by newspaper editors that ‘everything has changed’ since the Leveson report seven years ago. It is abundantly clear that nothing has changed.”
In a statement, a spokeswoman said: “The Sun has the utmost sympathy for Ben Stokes and his mother but it is only right to point out the story was told with the cooperation of a family member who supplied details, provided photographs and posed for pictures.��
Stokes was at the helm for the match-winning innings as England's men won their first Cricket World Cup at Lord's in July.
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