I like to think of myself as quite a private person. I keep myself to myself, I rarely share a status on my facebook profile and I have my twitter set to private. But what if this isn’t an option for you? What if you don’t have a choice in what is exposed of yourself to the world?
On paper an MP should set an example for the rest of us and abide by the law, but what happens when they don’t? Conservative MP for Lichfield Michael Fabricant has confessed to being caught speeding. If this was for a regular person we would get the letter through the door, moan and complain, but we’d get on with our lives pay the fine and accept the points.
When your supposed to be well respected and setting an example for the country it isn’t all that easy… He was called to the commons and exposed for the country to see and be humiliated by his fellow colleagues.
His only defence for direct communiction was Twitter where he stated:
“It says on the speeding form ‘Were you the Driver?’ I think I might say it was Chris Huhne.’
He then continued to create a joke out of the situation by saying:
“I think I should make a personal statement to the House about my 35mph speeding penalty. I am guilty. I am a pleb. It was a speed camera.”
For more detail on the story visit: http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/lichfield-mp-michael-fabricant-caught-229707
The UK law states that there is no free standing tort of breach of privacy in English law, so you will not be able to bring an action for breach of privacy per se against a private body.
Heres a link for more information on human rights to privacy in the UK: http://www.yourrights.org.uk/yourrights/privacy/index.html
Another example of where a perons privacy is out of their own control is the infamous Kim Kardashian.
With over 16,000,000 followers on twitter, around 4 million viewers on each episode of her families show and pictured daily her life is far from private, other celebrity’s would pay millions to stay out of the spotlight but Kim Kardashian, the sex taped socialite, voluntarily has camera’s following her around on a regular basis.
However after her 72 day marriage fell apart she demanded privacy… But does she have any right? If she puts herself on the line can she suddenly take herself off of it? I peronally don’t see how this is fair on her fans, the people who have made her who she is; the infamous woman with dimensions like no other. But then I think she is a human like the rest of us with feelings and emotions. We all saw how the likes of Britney and Lindsey ended up when fame got the better of them… Could she be the next in rehab?
Let’s start the debate!
Laura
Everything Ethics 
Haha – The MP’s comment about being Chris Huhne made me laugh 🙂 He got caught doing 5 miles over the 30 mph speed limit which is not exactly the crime of the century.
Thanks for commenting! So you think this is all blown out of proportion then and he had right to privacy? It seriously damaged his reputation and i’m sure its the first thing people will think of when his name is mentioned. Do you think this is fair or understandable as it is part of his job description?
i agree, i definitely think it depends on the situation and the person involved, if you’re forced into the limelight and its out of your control then yes, you should be allowed privacy. however with celebrities like kim kardashian who have become who they are because of the exposure from the newsapers and fans, then i dont think its fair for them to suddenly back out when their life gets tough, if they want quick fame then they need to deal with the consequences!
Thanks for voicing your opinion! So with Michael Fabricant its out of hands? and yes i agree Kim Kardashian has never been forced into doing anything she doesn’t want too and she owe’s it to her fans (the people who made her who she is) to share her life!