Ben Stokes attacks 'despicable' Sun story about family tragedy

The England cricketer Ben Stokes has described a front-page article in the Sun newspaper about a family tragedy 31 years ago as “disgusting” and “immoral”.

In a statement on Twitter on Tuesday, Stokes said the paper’s decision to publish the story would have “grave and lifelong consequences” for his mother, in particular. He claimed the story, which was also picked up by Mail Online, contained a number of serious inaccuracies.

“Today the Sun has seen fit to publish extremely painful, sensitive and personal details concerning events in the private lives of my family, going back more than 31 years,” he wrote. “It is hard to find words that adequately describe such low and despicable behaviour, disguised as journalism. I cannot conceive of anything more immoral, heartless or contemptuous to the feelings and circumstances of my family.”

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Stokes criticised the article as “the lowest form of journalism, focused only on chasing sales” and asked people to respect his family’s privacy and right to home life. “To use my name as an excuse to shatter the privacy and private lives of – in particular – my parents is utterly disgusting,” he wrote.

The article described in detail events in New Zealand 31 years ago, before he was born, when his mother’s ex-husband killed their two children before taking his own life.

Stokes said a reporter had turned up at his parents’ home in New Zealand “out of the blue” to ask them about the tragedy. The Sun reported that the couple and the cricketer had declined to comment.

In his statement, Stokes said his own public profile was not an excuse to “invade” the rights and privacy of his family members. He added: “This is the lowest form of journalism, focused only on chasing