The Sun taking the high ground on insensitivity? Crikey

By David Higgerson on Nov 9, 09 09:48 PM

Nobody in Liverpool needs reminding about the sick irony involved when The Sun decides to have a pop at somebody for being insensitive.

Today's front page story, headlined "Bloody Shameful" only warrants mention because of how particularly spiteful it was.

For anyone who missed it, the mother of killed soldier Jamie Janes was the subject of the story. Still grieving, she was very upset about the fact Gordon Brown's hand-written letter to her in the wake of her son's death appeared to spell his surname wrong and appeared to have spelling errors in it.

As it happens, Brown probably did spell Jamie's name wrong - it looks as though he called him James at first but then wrote over it - and comfort appears to have been spelt "cumfort" although the incorrect vowel could just be poor hand-writing.

But here's what I don't get. Why is this front page news. Yes, Jamie Jane's mother is angry, but is the responsible thing really to splash her across the front of a national newspaper? Is this not the sort of story a responsible newspaper would have solved in a more low-key manner?

In short, is using the grief and anger of a killed soldier's mother to mount a personal attack on the prime minister just weeks after hopping into bed with the Tories, really acceptable behaviour from a newspaper which still believes it has political influence?

The comments emailed and sent by text into radio and tv stations today suggests The Sun misjudged the mood. Yes, perhaps Brown should have been more careful with his spelling but most seemed to think a typed note would have been much worse.

This is, after all, a prime minister who, despite being poor of sight, found the time to sit down and write to each family.

To many, many families, such a note - scrawly as it is - would have been well-received, although The Sun makes no mention of that.

The Sun's article - which I'm not linking to for a reason - sets out to portray a heartless prime minister who doesn't give a damn about those who are grieving.

His very action of writing - not typing, but writing - a letter to each family shows that isn't the case.

Brown shouldn't be ashamed by today's story in The Sun. The vast majority of the public will know he meant well, and will probably think better of him for it.

As for The Sun - it has a big enough job on its hands trying to convince readers to vote for a Conservative Party which is still alien to many. But seeking to hurt the prime minister in such a spiteful way, and exploiting the grief of a widow in the process is, well, bloody shameful

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