The singer Ms Dynamite complained to the Press Complaints Commission through her record company Polydor that an article (and accompanying photograph) headlined "Chart star’s dream house is right next door to mum" published in the Islington Gazette on 26 March 2003 intruded into her privacy in breach of Clause 3 (Privacy) of the Code of Practice.

The complaint was upheld.

The article reported that the singer Ms Dynamite had purchased a new property in North London. The name of the street was given and a photo of the specific property was included. The complainant’s representatives said that the inclusion of such detail made identification of Ms Dynamite’s new home possible and could put her at risk from obsessive fans.

The newspaper explained that the story was intended to be a positive piece about a local celebrity. Nevertheless, the editor wrote directly to Ms Dynamite to express his sincere regret for any problems that had been caused by the publication of the article and to assure her that in the future the newspaper would not publish photographs of her home in conjunction with the road name.

While the Commission was pleased that the editor had made efforts to resolve this complaint, it has previously made clear that when publishing details about a celebrity’s home without consent, newspapers must take care to ensure that they do not publish the precise address or material that would enable people to find the whereabouts of the home. When making this point the Commission has been mindful of the particular security problems that some celebrities have encountered.

In this case the Commission was satisfied that sufficient detail was included in the article for the complainant’s home to be identified and it therefore upheld the complaint under Clause 3 of the Code.



Relevant precedent

A well-known entertainer v The Mail on Sunday, Report 51