Ben Stokes takes legal action against 'The Sun' for privacy invasion

Ben Stokes and his mother have reportedly launched legal action against 'The Sun' after the UK newspaper published a front-page story with sensitive information about the all-rounder's family. The Sun had last month published a story which described in detail events of more than 30 years ago involving the deaths of members of Stokes' New Zealand-based family. Over a month after the incident, Stokes and his mother Deborah have filed proceedings against 'The Sun' for the invasion of privacy. 

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Breached the privacy

Their lawyers will argue that the story breached the family's privacy by bringing up an issue that had been largely forgotten, The Guardian reported. Stokes, who starred in England's maiden World Cup win, had posted a statement on Twitter criticising 'The Sun'. He called the paper "utterly disgusting" for publishing a story that touched on "deeply personal and traumatic events". Stokes, 28, was born in New Zealand but moved to England as a boy.

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The Sun defends its approach

However, 'The Sun' defended its approach, saying the story had received extensive media coverage in New Zealand at that time. 

"The Sun has the utmost sympathy for Ben Stokes and his mother but it is only right to point out the story was told with the co-operation of a family member who supplied details, provided photographs and posed for pictures," a spokeswoman for the newspaper said.

"The tragedy is also a matter of public record and was the subject of extensive front-page publicity in New Zealand at that time," she added.

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Ben Stokes' wife terms reports as "non-sense"

England's star all-rounder Ben Stokes' wife Clare on Tuesday rubbished reports that the England cricketer tried to "choke" her during a party, terming it as "non-sense". According to 'The Independent', Guido Fawkes website had published photographs where Stokes had his hand on his wife's face during the Professional Cricketers' Association Awards Fiftieth Anniversary party. The photos soon triggered allegations of physical altercation, forcing Clare to clear the air. Stokes, who was England's World Cup hero, re-tweeted Clare's post with a kissing face emoji. 

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