Paul Burrell's complaint upheld

01 December 2008

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Paul Burrell's complaint over a story claiming he had sex with Britain's Princess Diana has been upheld.

The former royal butler - who was accused of boasting he slept with the late princess in the article by the News of the World newspaper, which centred on claims by Burrell's brother-in-law Ron Cosgrove - filed a complaint with the Press Complaints commission over the June 2008 story.

Explaining their decision to uphold the complaint, the commission said - in a report printed in the News of the World: "The claims about him were significant and substantial, and published with great prominence. The information came from the recollection of a 15-year-old conversation, and was not corroborated on the record by anyone outside Mr. Cosgrove's immediate family.

The information came from the recollection of a 15-year-old conversation, and was not corroborated on the record by anyone outside Mr

"It was clear to the commission in these circumstances that there was a strong likelihood that the omission of any denial from Mr. Burrell may have misled readers into believing that he accepted Mr. Cosgrove's allegations."

The commission said the newspaper should have contacted Burrell and printed his denial in the report due to the "startling" claims in the story, which bore the headline 'Burrell: I had sex with Diana'.

After the ruling, Burrell said in a statement: "It's deeply offensive article not only besmirched my name but, even more significantly, tainted the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, and unnecessarily so.

"The basis for its allegation was a claim that I had shared a conversation with a relative in 1993 in which I purportedly made boasts about the princess. Again, I state emphatically that no such conversation took place."

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