Press Complaints Commission revises rules on suicide reporting

Journalists are to be issued with new guidelines governing the reporting of suicides, in an attempt to prevent "copycat" deaths prompted by publicity.

The Press Complaints Commission has changed its code of practice to warn against printing "excessive" detail about the method used for a suicide; The commission's regulations already demanded cases were reported with sympathy and discretion but the latest changes will mean that excessive detail about the method and dosage will not be included in reports.

The latest move came after consultation with the charity Samaritans. Committee chairman Les Hinton, executive chairman of News International, said it had received "convincing evidence" from aborad that media reporting could prompt copycat cases.

Mr Hinton said that under the rules imposed from August, excessive detail would be avoided "unless it is in the wider public interest to give the information".

"For example, while it might be perfectly proper to report that the suicide was caused by an overdose of paracetamol, it would probably be excessive to state the number of tablets used." He addes that many editors already followed this kind of rule.

The new clause has been welcomed by Samaritans - a charity that provides support to people in emotional distress, including those contemplating suicide. Samaritans chief executive David King described the move as a "great step forward".

"It should mean we'll see more informative reporting of suicide as an issue, and far less about methods and the sensational aspects." Mr King added that sensationalised reporting could be "genuinely harmful".

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