Former PM tells Leveson inquiry Fife health board has apologised for leak about son's diagnosis with cystic fibrosis
Fife NHS board has told Gordon Brown it is "highly likely" a member of staff provided information for a Sun story about his son's diagnosis with cystic fibrosis.
The former Labour prime minister, giving evidence to the Leveson inquiry on Monday morning, said Fife NHS board had written to him apologising for the leak in 2006.
"I have submitted to you a letter from Fife health board... which makes it clear that they have apologised to us because they now believe it highly likely that there was unauthorised information given by a medical or working member of the NHS staff that allowed the Sun in the end through this middleman to publish this story," Brown told the inquiry.
Brown's claims set him on another collision course with the Sun, which has insisted it did not access Fraser Brown's medical records and that the 2006 story came from another source, a member of the public "whose family has also experienced cystic fibrosis".
The front-page splash in November 2006 pictured Brown under the headline "Four-and-a-half years after daughter's death, docs find cystic fibrosis in baby Fraser".
In a statement issued on Monday, NHS Fife chief executive John Wilson said: "Any breach of confidentiality in the NHS is unacceptable. We now accept that it is highly likely that, sometime in 2006, a member of staff in NHS Fife spoke, without authorisation, about the medical condition of Mr Brown's son, Fraser.
Wilson added that because the incident took place nearly six years ago, "it has not been possible to identify all the circumstances", but that NHS Fife believed there was "no inappropriate access to the child's medical records".
"We are quite clear that conversations about patients are just as much a breach of confidentiality as looking into their medical records," he said.
"In the six years which have passed, NHS Fife has tightened up its procedures on patient confidentiality, and staff have had appropriate training.
"I have apologised to Mr and Mrs Brown and we have taken steps to ensure that what happened to Mr and Mrs Brown and their family should not happen again."
A News International spokesperson said: "We welcome the fact that NHS Fife have today said that they believe
there was 'no inappropriate access' to the medical records of GordonBrown's son.
"The Sun stands by previous statements issued on the matter."
During his appearance before the inquiry on Monday Brown again accused the Sun of illegally obtaining his family's medical records to reveal his son's diagnosis. He repeated allegations he first made in the Commons in July 2011 and which the Sun has denied.
In his written statement to the inquiry Brown added: "Despite what has been said to the inquiry under oath, explicit permission was neither sought nor granted (nor would have been granted) for the publication of a story about my second son's medical condition, and I am sorry to say that even now the Sun newspaper have not been honest with the truth of how private, personal medical knowledge that could have been known only to a small group of medical professionals apart from our immediate family and which my son had a right to expect would remain confidential was obtained and authenticated."
Last month Rebekah Brooks, who was editor of the Sun when the story was published in 2006, told the Leveson inquiry it had come from legitimate means and she would not have run the story if the Browns had objected.
Brooks told Leveson the story had come indirectly from anotherfather and not medical records but refused to identify the source. "At the time we were absolutely satisfied that the father got the information through legitimate means and we were very sure about that," she said.
But on Monday Brown dismissed this as "fiction" during hisevidence. "I find it sad that even now, in 2012, members of the News International staff are coming to this inquiry and maintaining this fiction that a story that could only have been achieved or obtained through medical information or through me or my wife … was obtained in another way."
He denied giving the Sun permission to run the story, saying it had been presented as a "fait accompli", and when Brooks phoned his wife Sarah to say the Sun had the story, his first concern was damage limitation.
Brown said a journalist from the paper phoned his press office to say they had the story, and he and his wife decided to issue a statement as they did not want to be seen to be giving the paper an exclusive.
He added that Brooks then rang the press office and said it would not give advance warning of stories in future if this happened. She then phoned Sarah Brown to discuss it.
"I don't think any child's medical information, particularly at [the age of] four months, has any interest for the public and should be broadcast to the public," Brown said.
Asked why, if she was so upset, his wife remained friends with Brooks after the incident, Brown replied that she was one of the most "forgiving" people in the world.
Fife NHS board has told Gordon Brown it is "highly likely" a member of staff provided information for a Sun story about his son's diagnosis with cystic fibrosis.
The former Labour prime minister, giving evidence to the Leveson inquiry on Monday morning, said Fife NHS board had written to him apologising for the leak in 2006.
"I have submitted to you a letter from Fife health board... which makes it clear that they have apologised to us because they now believe it highly likely that there was unauthorised information given by a medical or working member of the NHS staff that allowed the Sun in the end through this middleman to publish this story," Brown told the inquiry.
Brown's claims set him on another collision course with the Sun, which has insisted it did not access Fraser Brown's medical records and that the 2006 story came from another source, a member of the public "whose family has also experienced cystic fibrosis".
The front-page splash in November 2006 pictured Brown under the headline "Four-and-a-half years after daughter's death, docs find cystic fibrosis in baby Fraser".
In a statement issued on Monday, NHS Fife chief executive John Wilson said: "Any breach of confidentiality in the NHS is unacceptable. We now accept that it is highly likely that, sometime in 2006, a member of staff in NHS Fife spoke, without authorisation, about the medical condition of Mr Brown's son, Fraser.
Wilson added that because the incident took place nearly six years ago, "it has not been possible to identify all the circumstances", but that NHS Fife believed there was "no inappropriate access to the child's medical records".
"We are quite clear that conversations about patients are just as much a breach of confidentiality as looking into their medical records," he said.
"In the six years which have passed, NHS Fife has tightened up its procedures on patient confidentiality, and staff have had appropriate training.
"I have apologised to Mr and Mrs Brown and we have taken steps to ensure that what happened to Mr and Mrs Brown and their family should not happen again."
A News International spokesperson said: "We welcome the fact that NHS Fife have today said that they believe
there was 'no inappropriate access' to the medical records of GordonBrown's son.
"The Sun stands by previous statements issued on the matter."
During his appearance before the inquiry on Monday Brown again accused the Sun of illegally obtaining his family's medical records to reveal his son's diagnosis. He repeated allegations he first made in the Commons in July 2011 and which the Sun has denied.
In his written statement to the inquiry Brown added: "Despite what has been said to the inquiry under oath, explicit permission was neither sought nor granted (nor would have been granted) for the publication of a story about my second son's medical condition, and I am sorry to say that even now the Sun newspaper have not been honest with the truth of how private, personal medical knowledge that could have been known only to a small group of medical professionals apart from our immediate family and which my son had a right to expect would remain confidential was obtained and authenticated."
Last month Rebekah Brooks, who was editor of the Sun when the story was published in 2006, told the Leveson inquiry it had come from legitimate means and she would not have run the story if the Browns had objected.
Brooks told Leveson the story had come indirectly from anotherfather and not medical records but refused to identify the source. "At the time we were absolutely satisfied that the father got the information through legitimate means and we were very sure about that," she said.
But on Monday Brown dismissed this as "fiction" during hisevidence. "I find it sad that even now, in 2012, members of the News International staff are coming to this inquiry and maintaining this fiction that a story that could only have been achieved or obtained through medical information or through me or my wife … was obtained in another way."
He denied giving the Sun permission to run the story, saying it had been presented as a "fait accompli", and when Brooks phoned his wife Sarah to say the Sun had the story, his first concern was damage limitation.
Brown said a journalist from the paper phoned his press office to say they had the story, and he and his wife decided to issue a statement as they did not want to be seen to be giving the paper an exclusive.
He added that Brooks then rang the press office and said it would not give advance warning of stories in future if this happened. She then phoned Sarah Brown to discuss it.
"I don't think any child's medical information, particularly at [the age of] four months, has any interest for the public and should be broadcast to the public," Brown said.
Asked why, if she was so upset, his wife remained friends with Brooks after the incident, Brown replied that she was one of the most "forgiving" people in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment