Kerslake Report into Manchester Arena attack criticises behaviour by some parts of the media

THE behaviour of some media has been criticised in the Kerslake Report on the Manchester Arena attack.

The child of one family was given condolences on the doorstep by a journalist before official notification of the death of her mother and, in another incident, a note was put in a biscuit tin and sent into a hospital ward offering £2,000 for information, the report states.

Journalists also allegedly impersonated a bereavement nurse and a police officer, to get information, it was claimed.

The report said: “The panel was shocked and dismayed by the accounts of the families of their experience with some of the media.

“To have experienced such intrusive and overbearing behaviour at a time of enormous vulnerability seemed to us to be completely unacceptable.

“We were concerned to identify what might be done to prevent this happening again in any future terrorist event.”

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The report said people talked about feeling “hounded” and “bombarded” as news crews from across the UK and around the world descended on Manchester.

At the hospitals, families attending to look for missing loved ones and visiting the injured described having to force their way through scrums of reporters who “wouldn’t take no for an answer”.

One mother, who was seriously injured, as was her daughter, spoke of the press ringing her on her mobile whilst she was recovering in hospital.

At the Etihad Stadium where families of the missing and injured gathered, there were concerns with people feeling accosted by media crews and several told of the physical presence of news crews outside their homes.

One mentioned the forceful attempt by a reporter to gain access through their front door by ramming a foot in the doorway.

In the case of one family, the daughter was visited by a reporter at their home and given condolences on the death of her brother whilst her parents were at the Etihad Stadium on the morning following the attack.

The family were not told officially that their son was likely to be among the fatalities until later that day.

The report said although families referred to reporters saying they were from individual news organisations, it is not possible to say for certain who individuals were working for – so the report does not identify individual newspapers or broadcasters.

The report recommends media regulator the Independent Press Standards Organisation takes action on the “completely unacceptable” behaviour by reviewing its code of conduct.