Hiss and tell: Was Rupert Murdoch’s hatred of the BBC behind The Sun’s Huw Edwards exposé?

The TV presenter may have been reckless and the BBC’s handling of the allegations against him may be of public interest – but nothing is simple about this case, argues Alan Rusbridger, including the tabloid’s behaviour

For the moment, Huw Edwards is lying in a hospital bed – and his family are asking for privacy (PA Archive)

In 2009, a married footballer, known only to the outside world as MJN, had an affair with a lingerie model. The model, in time-honoured fashion (these were the days of lucrative kiss and tell), went to The Sun newspaper with the story: “MY FLING WITH PREM STAR”.

The paper wanted to go further and name the love rat in question – only to be foiled by MJN obtaining an injunction. Cue much fury from the newspaper, which protested loudly at being GAGGED.

The rules over the boundary lines between private and public had been painstakingly negotiated between Fleet Street executives and the Blair government at the time the Human Rights Act came into force a decade earlier – and required courts to take account of any relevant journalistic codes of practice.