The Sun defends front page following Manchester terror attack

The Sun has been quick to defend itself against claims that it sought to politically exploit the Manchester Arena terror attack with a front page article focusing on Jeremy Corbyn’s alleged links to the IRA.

The left-leaning online news site The Canary called for a boycott of the newspaper after the first edition of the title ran the headline “Blood on his hands” which was directed at the Labour leader.

The article, penned by The Canary editor Kerry-Ann Mendoze, stated: “On a day set aside for mourning, with all political campaigns stood down, The Sun ran this. A naked manipulation of tragic events to serve its own political purposes.”

The Canary has since updated their article with the following correction: “The Sun contacted The Canary to request that we update the piece to reflect that The Sun went to print prior to the concert bombing. The paper issued an updated front page subsequently. We’re happy to do so.”

More recently, The Canary has added its voice to many others who have criticised The Sun for splashing an image of the Manchester bomber on a subsequent front page.

A spokesperson for The Sun told journalists: “The Sun is very keen to clear up any confusion about the timings of its editions on Tuesday, 23 May, and has the utmost contempt for those knowingly exploiting this confusion to suit their own prejudices against the newspaper.

“The Sun stands as one with the whole of Manchester and our hearts go out to all affected by this tragedy.”

The Sun has also reacted angrily to an online petition calling for a boycott of the title following the terror attack which has currently received 77,866 signatures.

A statement on Change.org from The Sun states: “This petition is based on a lie – namely that the Sun first edition front page on Tuesday 23 May and accompanying articles were written after the Manchester bombings.

“This is categorically untrue. That edition of the paper was sent to print at 10pm, 35 minutes before the bombing occurred.

“In the aftermath of the attack, the Sun changed its front and inside pages for the second edition (see more here).

“The Sun has set up a donation page and pledged its full support to the bombing victims and the people of Manchester. The Sun’s publisher, News UK, donated £100,000 to help kickstart this campaign.

“Our hearts go out to all affected by this tragedy and we sincerely hope that this ends the deliberate misrepresentation of our editions on that day.”