MEDIA COVERAGE OF SUICIDE

Early day motion 2484, tabled 3 July 2006 by Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative). Signed by 62 members.

That this House welcomes the recently announced proposed amendment to the Editor's Code of Conduct; further welcomes the new commitment to ensure that when reporting suicide, care should be taken to avoid excessive detail about the method used; notes that the change has come, in no small measure, as a response to the publication of photographs in the press earlier this year which many, including some in the media, felt were gratuitous and could have led to a copycat case; congratulates Samaritans on their work in bringing this change about; and hopes that in future the media will treat coverage of suicide with the sensitivity that it deserves.

Signatures by party: Labour 30, Conservative 17, Liberal Democrat 11, Social Democratic and Labour Party 2, DUP 1, Plaid Cymru 1.