COMPLAINTS to the press regulator regarding the writer Giles Coren’s social media post about the death of journalist Dawn Foster will not be investigated, The National can reveal.
Coren provoked widespread criticism after he made comments on Twitter about the death of the 34-year-old reporter. The Times food critic tweeted “f**k off on to hell” just days after Foster, who previously wrote a column for The Guardian, passed away earlier this month.
The press regulator, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), received 23 complaints about the tweet, which has since been deleted.
Last week IPSO told The National they were assessing the complaints to see if they will launch a formal investigation.
However, last night, the regulator said as the tweets were not from an account regulated by a newspaper, they did not fall inside it’s remit.
I tend not to wade into arguments on here (we all have better things to do) & 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.
— Kate McCann (@KateEMcCann) July 20, 2021
READ MORE: Giles Coren slammed for 'sickening' comment after death of journalist Dawn Foster
A spokesman for IPSO told The National: “We received a total of 23 complaints regarding tweets by Giles Coren.
“When we spoke last, IPSO’s executive staff were reviewing the complaints to assess whether any raised a potential breach of the Editors’ Code of Practice within IPSO’s remit.
“As part of that review, IPSO contacted the newspaper which confirmed that they do not have editorial control of the tweets/Twitter account complained about. The complaints therefore fell outside IPSO’s remit and were closed.”
During her career, Foster, a regular newspaper reviewer on television, had suggested that Coren had got his job on The Times as a result of family connections.
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 f**k off on to hell now where you belong’?”
The comment were described as “just too awful to say out loud” by a Sky News journalist.
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