A school newsletter led journalists to cover a story about the death of a 13-year-old girl whose mother had been diagnosed with a medical condition.

But the MK News has been criticised for publishing information about the woman’s health – because that part of the story was not in the public domain.

Journalists were unable to speak to the family before publication but used two separate, reliable sources to confirm what had happened.

The November 2006 article reported the tragic death of Deanne Asamoah and included the claim that she took her own life after learning that her mother was ill.

The complainants told the Press Complaints Commission that this was inaccurate and the story was intrusive, in breach of Clauses 1 (Accuracy) and 3 (Privacy) of the Code.

They said there was no evidence that Deanne had taken her own life, or that her mother’s illness was a factor: she had known about the condition for four years. They believed the reference to her mother’s health was an intrusion into her privacy.

The newspaper had found out about the death a few hours before deadline, after it had been reported, in very general terms, in a school newsletter.

It was considered to be in the public interest to cover the tragic death and the article distinguished conjecture from fact by making clear that there was some uncertainty about the circumstances, saying that they were “believed” to be the case.

When contacted by the family, the newspaper offered to print an interview with family members, an offer that remained open.

It also published a follow-up report on the initial inquest and undertook to cover the full inquest in April 2007.

The Commission upheld the complaint, also noting that a reasonable request for an apology had been rejected by the editor.

Its adjudication said: “Newspapers have a right to report news about deaths.

“But in this case, the article represented a serious breach of the Code by publishing details, without consent, of Mrs Addai-Twumasi’s state of health.

“This information was not in the public domain – following the inquest, for instance – and there was insufficient public interest for publishing it.

“The intrusion was compounded by the publication of what was ultimately speculation concerning the reasons for the death.”

It said the lack of an apology was an “obvious, and unacceptable” breach of the Code that should have been swiftly remedied.

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