Charlie Gard Publicity Highlights Ethical Responsibilities Of Pr

There can be few people not familiar with Charlie Gard, a baby who was born in August 2016 with a rare inherited disease

His parents Chris Gard and Connie Yates took his case first to the UK then European Courts, as they battled for ongoing treatment for Charlie after Great Ormond Street hospital specialists advised that this should stop. They also courted publicity to raise as much support for his cause as possible. Sadly Charlie died on 28th July of this year. Since then, questions have been raised about the nature of public relations work and the ethical responsibility of practitioners, with particular reference to those who were responsible for advising Charlie’s parents.

A report in The Times on Saturday 29th July investigated the conduct of Alasdair Seton-Marsden and Alison Smith-Squire, who were their two main advisers. As President-Elect of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), I asked the Institute to clarify its position on the issues raised, the result of which is helpful for both practitioners and the general public, as published here. The CIPR made it clear that neither Seton-Marsden nor Smith-Squire were members of the CIPR. The Institute also had no knowledge of the agreements those named may have reached with Chris Gard and Connie Yates, but did say this about professional practice: Public relations professionals must always make statements with the informed consent of their client. CIPR members may not make public statements outside the scope of what their client has asked them to provide. Public relations professionals may work for their client for an agreed fee, or they may work pro bono. A CIPR member may not offer their services for free to the client, and then seek to monetise stories, information, images or other material by selling them to third parties. We regard working on this basis as unprofessional because it is, or is open to, a serious conflict of interest.

Clients may seek advice on how to obtain publicity in support of something they feel very strongly about. Part of the advice a CIPR member needs to give their client is that publicity is not always necessarily positive, and that bringing something to public attention can have unexpected, and indeed alarming consequences. Readers of a newspaper story should know whether it has been produced by a person who is independent of the story they are writing about, or by someone representing their client. CIPR members should take care to avoid any potential confusion.Advice to clients – If you want public relations advice, choose a practitioner who follows a professional code of conduct and is therefore accountable for their actions and advice e.g. CIPR or PRCA. Insist upon a written contract, including clear terms of payment.

Where the work is to be undertaken free of charge to the client, insist on a written agreement that sets out how you expect them to represent you and what they may or may not do with your assets, data and intellectual property. If you feel that your public relations adviser has a conflict of interest or is in some way not discharging their responsibility to you, contact the CIPR or the organisation of which they are a member to ask for advice. What is clear is that any person working on behalf of a client must represent their views accurately and with their informed consent. They must not allow a conflict of interest to arise, such as also being paid by the media to write articles about them. Conflicts of interest are not removed where work is undertaken free of charge.

You wouldn’t hire a solicitor who hadn’t passed their legal exams or take medical advice from someone who wasn’t a doctor, so never hire a public relations practitioner without the relevant credentials. Anyone unsure about how to procure support or with concerns about the service provided can call the CIPR for help. A grieving family lies at the heart of this case and thoughts are with Charlie’s parents at this time. The CIPR operates an Ethics Hotline for members seeking advice on the management of ethical conflicts.