Politicians unite to attack press

DEMANDS for a press watchdog to rein-in “sensationalist reporting” intensified last night after the way Liam Lawlor’s death was covered in some newspapers provoked outrage.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern led criticism of the "race to the bottom" journalism surrounding the car crash which left the former Fianna Fáil TD dead in Moscow.

"While journalists have a job to do, things were written that should not have been," he said.

He added that he did not accept some of the justifications given by a number of journalists yesterday, to the effect that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Mr Lawlor's family should have been more forthcoming with information.

"The last thing on (Hazel Lawlor's) mind well, look her husband was killed was worrying about what someone was going to say," he said.

The management of Independent Newspapers publicly apologised to the Lawlor family for the way the Sunday Independent wrongly suggested a woman passenger in the car was a prostitute.

The controversy strengthens the hand of Justice Minister Michael McDowell, who plans to establish a press council through the Defamation Bill which is due before the Oireachtas within the next six weeks.

Mr McDowell said he was "determined" to push through the initiative and stressed the body would be independent of Government and any newspaper.

"We are merely giving the media an opportunity to collectively establish mechanisms by which they must deal fairly with the public about whom they write," he said.

"If I were to be the subject of a fatal road traffic accident in similar circumstances I wouldn't expect people to speculate about who was in the car with me or whether I was in a red light area and to print it up on the way it was.

"I can only imagine that it must have been one horror piled upon another as far as the family was concerned," he said.

FG leader Enda Kenny used the uproar to restate his call for a press council but insisted it would be a threat to democracy if its members were Government-appointed.

"Some parts of the media are capable of being reckless in relation to facts and in relation to the reputation of individuals," Mr Kenny said. "Fine Gael believes that there is a general consensus that the currently unregulated environment in which the press operates is no longer sustainable."

Labour senator and former journalist Kathleen O'Meara said the case highlighted why regulation was needed.

"One of the most objectionable elements of the coverage of Liam Lawlor's death was that the dead can't sue for libel and Mr Lawlor's family have no formal mechanism for seeking redress for the publication of totally inaccurate and offensive material about him," she said.

Tánaiste Mary Harney said more respect should have been shown to the Lawlor family, adding: "It had to be very, very distressing for them to read some of the reports."

Ms Harney yesterday said that the whole episode had been insensitive. "We all have to be respectful of the huge trauma and tragedy this is for the family, for Hazel, her three sons and daughter."

In relation to the media coverage on Sunday, she said it had to be very distressing for the family to read some of the reports.

A Government spokesperson said yesterday that no information was to hand to suggest the controversy will be discussed at this morning's Cabinet meeting.