A London hospital has made a formal complaint to the Sun newspaper, a UK tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, over its conduct in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.
Kings College Hospital would not discuss the circumstances of the dispute, but the The Sun vehemently denied a report that its journalist had impersonated a victim’s relative to gain access for an interview.
“Following an incident at King’s College hospital, we have formally written to the Sun and will be informing the Independent Press Standards Organisation,” said a spokeswoman for King’s College hospital NHS Foundation Trust. “We are unable to comment on the specifics until our complaint has been investigated.”
The Sun said that a reporter and a photographer had arrived at the hospital to conduct an interview with one of the people injured in the fire.
It said that the victim had provided a “detailed phone interview for the newspaper” and the reporter was visiting him in hospital to “get a further interview and photos.”
“On arrival the Sun reporter and photographer made hospital staff aware that they were present and had been in touch with the contact.
“However we were informed the contact had changed his mind on the interview and The Sun promptly left the hospital. We refute any accusation that our employees acted inappropriately and we condemn the inaccurate and hyperbolic reporting these accusations have provoked.”
The newspaper also added that nobody from the paper “impersonated” any member of the victim’s family.
Dozens of people remain missing after fire rapidly engulfed the 24-story building in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Authorities say 24 people remain in hospital, 12 of whom are in critical care.
Kings College Hospital was one of the centers where victims were transported following the fire which began in the early hours of Wednesday morning.