(Reuters) – The Guardian newspaper apologized on Friday for reporting that the Sun, part of Rupert Murdoch’s News International stable, had obtained information about former prime minister Gordon Brown’s son from medical records.
The newspaper, which has played a pivotal role in revealing details of the News of the World phone hacking scandal, printed a one-paragraph apology on page 36.
“In fact the information came from a different source and the Guardian apologizes for its error,” the correction read.
The Guardian printed a front page story on Tuesday that claimed the Sun discovered Brown’s son Fraser had been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis by accessing medical records in 2006, when Brown was chancellor.
Brown was “in tears” when he found out the Sun was going to run the story about his child, he told the BBC in an interview on Tuesday.
The Sun denied any wrongdoing and said the information came from a member of the public whose son also suffers from cystic fibrosis, who wanted to raise awareness of the condition.