Tabloids lured by celebrity plastic surgery hoax

The Sunday Mirror, News of the World and People have been secretly filmed at meetings they thought were concerned with the possible purchase of private medical information about public figures who had undergone cosmetic surgery.

They were caught in the sting after they were approached by an undercover documentary-maker. He claimed to have a contact working as an administrative nurse in a cosmetic surgery clinic.

The newspapers were offered the chance to obtain confidential medical information about famous clients of the clinic. The filmaker, Chris Atkins, said he came up with the hoax to test "how far tabloid journalists are prepared to go" in pursuit of intrusive information.

The response of three tabloids ranged from cautious expressions of interest to an offer of £3,000 for every story printed.

A fourth Sunday tabloid, the Sunday Express, refused to meet Atkins, telling him his proposal could be deemed illegal and constituted "a gross breach of ethics".

The obtaining of private medical records without a person's consent is usually considered a breach of the Data Protection Act (DPA). Some breaches of the DPA could be justified by media organisations if they can prove obtaining the data was in the public interest.

Atkins said: "We wanted to do a survey of the newspapers to see if they would rise to the bait."

Atkins stopped communicating with the journalists after the first meeting and no money was exchanged.

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