Press Complaint Commission Ends Teenage Parent/Checkbook Journalism Investigation

The Press Complaints Commission has abandoned an investigation into possible checkbook journalism over stories published in the Sun, the People, and the Sunday Mail (Scotland) after an injunction severely restricting access to the families meant that the Commission could not pursue its inquiries fully. The PCC was concerned over the Sun’s reports that a thirteen year old boy had fathered the child of a fifteen year old. These stories later turned out to be untrue. The Sun has since indicated that it will assist in funding a trust to provide living expenses to bring the baby who is the subject of the stories.