A woman exposed by a newspaper as the estranged sister of former Glasgow gangster Paul Ferris has launched Scotland's first court action for breach of privacy.
Maureen Ferris is suing the Sunday Mail for £250,000 after the tabloid printed her picture and her new, married name without her permission. Ms Ferris, described as one of the "white sheep" of her family, had severed all links with older brothers Paul, once a major gangland figure, and Billy, a former bank robber who has been convicted of two murders.
She had not told her children she was related to the convicted criminals. They, like her employer, workmates and friends, found out from the newspaper. Lawyers for Ms Ferris, who lives under another name, will today argue in the Court of Session that the Sunday Mail breached her right to privacy, enshrined, they say, in the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).
Ms Ferris's solicitor, Brent Haywood of Biggart Baillie in Glasgow, said: "Celebrities including Naomi Campbell, Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas, and JK Rowling have all pursued well-publicised cases in England.
"I am not aware of a similar case in Scotland. What makes this case so significant is that my client is not a celebrity and is not in the public eye. Indeed, she had gone to great lengths to distance herself from the notorious family into which she was born."
The Sunday Mail published its story about Ms Ferris in 2002, just as her brother Paul was expected to be released from jail in England after serving two-thirds of a seven-year sentence for gun running.
A reporter from the newspaper had approached Ms Ferris, requesting an interview.
Her lawyers say that she declined, but spoke to the reporter to explain why. She was quoted in the paper saying: "My brothers are very dangerous and I'm afraid of them."
A photograph of Ms Ferris was taken, without her knowledge but in a public place. It was published with the story.
"This had a totally devastating impact on her life," Mr Haywood said. "One of her children had to change school, her marriage suffered, and she had to take a month off work."
Ms Ferris complained about the article to the paper industry watchdog, the Press Complaints Commission. It found that the Sunday Mail had been wrong to use subterfuge to photograph her, as this was not in the public interest. But Ms Ferris felt she needed more than the PCC could give her. So she decided to sue.
John Scott, a solicitor specialising in human-rights issues, said: "It's good the law on privacy is going to be explored in Scotland. This case is long overdue."
Alan Rennie, the editor of the Sunday Mail, declined to comment last night. His lawyers, however, are expected to defend the newspaper.
The Court of Session in Edinburgh has timetabled two days of debate on the case, starting today.
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