Daily Star warned over use of Gail Porter daughter pic

The Daily Star has received a legal warning after it published a picture of TV presenter Gail Porter’s eight-year-old daughter.

The Guardian reported that lawyers acting for Toploader guitarist Dan Hipgrave, the father of the child and the former husband of Porter, issued the warning on 20 May.

He asked newspapers not to use pictures that featured his daughter in stories relating to Porter’s mental health and, according to The Guardian, warned publishers ‘about intrusion of privacy, referring to the section of the PCC code of practice on photographing children”.

Daily Star publisher Northern & Shell decided to leave the Press Complaints Commission at the beginning of this year saying it would rather use its own lawyers to settle disputes.

Hipgrave is quoted in The Guardian as saying:

I don’t even know how I’m going to get in touch with [the Daily Star] now they’re not part of the PCC. I don’t really know what the best thing is to do.

He added:

I’ve read about [Northern & Shell’s withdrawal from the PCC] and it’s just an admission that they’re not going to play fairly. I’m a pretty regular guy – I’m not really in the spotlight anymore – and I don’t ask much from anyone in the press, but I felt this was a worthy matter and you’d think they’d respect that.

A spokesman for the PCC told The Guardian:

As soon as recent stories appeared about Ms Porter’s health, we contacted her representatives to offer assistance in dealing with any concerns about the press. This could include helping frame complaints against the Star, despite the current financial dispute between Richard Desmond and the funding body for the PCC.

Northern & Shell was unavailable for comment.