THE press regulator has been hit with a barrage of complaints after a newspaper journalist was accused of making a "sickening" social media post after the death of a young woman reporter.
Some 23 complaints have been received to date by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) after tweets were sent from writer Giles Coren's Twitter account, which have since been deleted.
The tweets made highly insensitive responses to the passing at the age of 33 of Dawn Foster, a left-wing journalist working for the Jacobin website.
Ipso are now assessing the complaints to see if they will launch a formal investigation.
During her career, Foster, a regular newspaper reviewer on television and a former Guardian columnist, had suggested that Coren had got his job on The Times as a result of family connections.
The journalist Dawn Foster, whose death was announced last week
His father was Alan Coren, a writer and panellist on shows such as The News Quiz and Call My Bluff. His sister is TV presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell.
The tweet from Coren's account read: “When someone dies who has trolled you on Twitter, saying vile and hurtful things about you and your family, is it okay to be like, 'I’m sorry for the people who loved you, and any human death diminishes me, but, HA HA HA HA HA HA'?"
Another version of the tweet read: “When someone dies who has trolled you on Twitter, saying vile and hurtful things about you and your family, is it okay to be like, 'I’m sorry for the people who loved you, and any human death diminishes me, but can you fuck off on to hell now where you belong'?"
The comments prompted a furious backlash, being described as "just too awful to say out loud" by a Sky News journalist.
Kate McCann, political correspondent on Sky News, tweeted on Tuesday: "I tend not to wade into arguments on here (we all have better things to do)and I didn't know Dawn Foster, but some things are just too awful to say out loud. I don't believe in drowning out opinions I don't like but I don't think we should let bad things go either. It wasn't OK."
Newspaper journalists are expected to comply with Ipso's Editors' Code of Conduct.
READ MORE: Giles Coren slammed for 'sickening' comment after death of journalist Dawn Foster
The Code covers editorial material and journalist behaviour in relation to news gathering activity (this could include approaches via social media). However, Ipso's regulated entity is the publisher rather than individual journalists.
It is not clear if journalists’ personal tweets or social media activity fall under the remit of the Code, unless the publisher has editorial control over them.
There are some circumstances where journalist’s social media does interact with the Code, eg if the tweet links back to material under the editorial control of the publisher which is ruled in breach of the Code.
A spokesman for Ipso said it had received 23 complaints referencing the tweets about the death of Foster.
It added: "Ipso complaints are made under clauses of the Editors’ Code of Practice. Ipso evaluates every complaint it receives to assess whether it is in remit and whether the matter raises a potential breach of the Code. If the complaint is in remit and a potential breach of the Code is identified, Ipso investigates the complaint. Ipso is currently assessing complaints in relation to this matter."
The Code also includes how journalists should be sensitive in approaching death when they are involved in news gathering activities.
It says: "Intrusion into grief or shock In cases involving personal grief or shock, enquiries and approaches must be made with sympathy and discretion and publication handled sensitively. These provisions should not restrict the right to report legal proceedings."
If Ipso's Complaints Committee rules there has been a breach of the Code, they determine the appropriate remedy: this could include printed correction, amendment, clarification or long-form adjudication.
Born in Belfast and brought up in Newport, South Wales, Foster wrote particularly on housing and disability and was working on a book about the dole when she died, drawing on her life being brought up in an unemployed family.
She died of causes related to her long-term illness. Before her death, Foster tweeted that she had been released from hospital. She had epilepsy as well as other health conditions.
She was found dead at home after failing to respond to messages from friends.
James Butler, co-founder of Novara Media, paid tribute to her, describing her death as “a terrible loss”.
“Dawn never wavered in her belief in a better world, and was never shy about fighting for it,” he said. “She did not modulate her beliefs in pursuit of professional advancement."
Her friend, podcaster Helen Zaltzman, tweeted after her death: "No posthumous euphemising for @DawnHFoster: she was, in truth, my most terrifying friend. And one of the funniest and cleverest. The most bellicose, stylish, merciless, dauntless. Her work on inequality was so important. I learned so much from her."
Writer Sarah Woolley said: "She lit up our lives."
There were calls for Coren, who also hosts a show on Times Radio, to be fired, but News UK, which owns The Times and Sunday Times, has refused to comment.
Coren is also yet to respond to the backlash.
Meanwhile, it has been reported today that the exterior of Coren's home in London was last night daubed in graffiti paying tribute to Foster. It read: "Dawn Foster Forever". A red heart was also drawn underneath and a bouquet of flowers.
The Society of Editors has been approached for comment.
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