A MAN from North Yorkshire complained to the Press Complaints Commission that an article published in The Northern Echo on October 24, last year, headlined "BSE may have hit youngest victim", revealed that his son had contracted new variant CJD (vCJD) in breach of Clause 3 (Privacy) of the Code.

The complaint was upheld.

The complainant stated that, although the wrong Christian name had been used in the article - in fact his own - his son had been clearly identified through the correct description of his surname, age and partial address.

The newspaper stressed that an apology had been published regarding the inaccurate aspect of the article and a personal assurance given to the complainant that there would be no further mention of the family in relation to the son's illness. However, it stressed that information relating to the incidence of vCJD disease was a matter of legitimate public interest and that the specific information relating to the complainant's son was already in the public domain.

In its adjudication, the Commission said it was not persuaded by the newspaper's evidence that the boy's name had been established in the public domain. The Commission has previously made clear that, while reporting of the incidence of vCJD is a matter of legitimate public interest, the identification of somebody with the condition - and in particular a child - is not, unless permission has been given. In the Commission's view, the story could have been written without including references likely to identify the victim.

The Commission therefore upheld the complaint finding it a serious breach of the code.