Leveson Inquiry: My Son Killed Himself After Reading Filthy Lies About His Murdered Sister

Leveson Inquiry: My Son Killed Himself After Reading Filthy Lies About His Murdered Sister [22.11.2011]

Click the link below to SUBSCRIBE to the 'News of the World Phone Hacking' YouTube channel @ http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?annotation_id=annotation_732456&am...

For upto date news on the hacking scandal, follow me on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/#!/NOTW_Hack_News

The mother of a boy who killed himself after reading derogatory articles about his dead sister has urged journalists "to look into the facts".

Margaret Watson told the Leveson Inquiry into press ethics that her son Alan "could take no more".

The Herald newspaper and Marie Claire magazine published pieces which the Watsons believed had besmirched their 16-year-old daughter's name.

Diane Watson was killed at Whitehill Secondary in Dennistoun in 1991.

Her 15-year-old killer Barbara Glover was convicted just months after the murder and sent to Kerelaw Secure Unit.

Eighteen months after their daughter's death, Mrs Watson and her husband Jim suffered the loss of their only other child, 15-year-old Alan.

The couple told the inquiry at the High Court in London that he was found dead with cuttings of the offending articles in his hand.

Mrs Watson was highly critical of Herald journalist Jack McLean whom she claimed had used Diane's case to "spearhead a campaign" into the treatment of young offenders.

She told the inquiry: "Journalists should have all the facts and not cause other tragedies to take place."

During evidence to the inquiry, which lasted 35 minutes, the Glasgow woman said Mr McLean's articles had painted the murderer as the victim.

Mrs Watson said: "He [Mr McLean] said we came from an upper working class background and Diane had looked down on Barbara with disdain."

She added that the journalist had no right to paint Diane in the way that he did.

"We didn't have a memory left of her because of people like him [Mr McLean]," said Mrs Watson.

She explained to the inquiry that she received no apology from The Herald or from Mr McLean and it took more than a year to receive an apology over the Marie Claire magazine article.

Mrs Watson said that she believed there was "no doubt" that the articles contributed directly to her son committing suicide.
Thanks to the BBC

Monday 22nd November 2011

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Leveson
• Inquiry
• Steve
• Coogan
• Covert
• Surveillance
• Spying
• News
• Of
• The
• World
• Rupert
• Murdoch
• Rebekah
• Brooks
• Andy
• Coulson
• Clive
• Goodman
• Glenn
• Operation
• Weeting
• Mulcaire
• Chris
• Bryant
• Tom
• Watson
• Journalists
• BSkyB
• International
• Corp
• Politics
• Mirror
• Metropolitan
• Police
• Hacked
• Phone
• Media
• Scandal
• Celebrities
• Damages
• Corruption
• Victims
• Select
• Committee
• BBC
• CNN

[NOTWPhoneHacking]

@optionsupdate OK. Well both charges should be deemed illegal.

Apart from the illegalities, it's just wrong really isn't it?

[optionsupdate]

@NOTWPhoneHacking not flipping he arranged his mortgage to extract the maximum payments from the expense account

[NOTWPhoneHacking]

@optionsupdate All top Tories "flipped" their homes.

When coming to agreements on what would be deemed legal & illegal - disgracefully, flipping was deemed legal, but would cease.

[optionsupdate]

@cheddyrod notice how camerons arranging his mortgage affairs so as to extract maximum money from the expenses was swept under the rug

[cheddyrod]

@optionsupdate How many receive favorable treatment in the UK? Well we know that Cameron does.

[optionsupdate]

in australia a murdoch company is said to have attempted to bribe a Australian senator they offered him money and favourable treatment in his newspapers, I wonder how many MP's got favourable treatment in the murdoch press??

[dangerouslytalented]

This is not the only death... The tabloids killed Diana with constant harrassment by the papparazzi.