Mr John Kelly and the Irish Independent

Decision of the Press Council of Ireland (5 April 2013)

Mr Kelly appealed the decision of the Press Ombudsman on the use of a photograph on the grounds of Principle 1 (Truth and Accuracy), Principle 3 (Fairness and Honesty) and Principle 5 (Privacy).   

The Council noted that Mr Kelly appealed the Ombudsman’s decision only in relation to publication of the photograph, taken of him in handcuffs on the occasion of an earlier trial.   He did not appeal against the other elements of the Ombudsman's decision rejecting Mr Kelly's complaints that the article breached various provisions of the Code of Practice.

The Council affirmed all elements of the decision of the Press Ombudsman in relation to the publication of the photograph under Principles 1 and 5 but allowed the appeal under Principle 3, judging the use of an archive photograph of Mr Kelly in handcuffs on the occasion of an earlier trial for which he was later acquitted on appeal to be a breach of that Principle in the particular circumstances of this case.