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Did you hear about the plight of a South Wales couple who pointed out that CNN’s careless reporting of the Mumbai hotel siege endangered their lives?

Fox reports. You decide.

CNN reports. You pray for your life:

A SOUTH Wales couple caught in the Mumbai terror attacks claimed last night that CNN put their lives at risk by broadcasting where they were.

Lynne and Kenneth Shaw, of Penarth, warned that terrorists were listening in to the media to pinpoint Western victims. Mrs Shaw claimed the American cable TV channel had broadcast details of where they were at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

She has appealed to the media to be careful with the information it broadcasts because safety could be compromised and lives lost.

The couple flew back into Heathrow yesterday morning on a flight arranged by the British Consulate. Mrs Shaw had been forced to hide under a table as terrorists stormed the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. She and her husband were later rescued by Gurkhas and taken straight to the Australian Embassy for safety.

The couple were at the end of a month-long visit to India and were staying in Mumbai for a few days before heading back to the UK. From her home in Penarth yesterday, Mrs Shaw said: “We have been asked by the British terror police not to talk to the press.

“But the reason I would not want to talk to anyone is because our safety was actually compromised by CNN, which broadcast where we were.

“The terrorists were watching CNN and they came down from where they were in a lift after hearing about us on television. For that reason I would appeal to the media to be very careful about what they broadcast.

“When we left Mumbai there were still around 100 people trapped there.” She added: “People talk to one another on mobile phones and that gets broadcast and the terrorists knew from that.”

They never learn:

***

A CNN flack e-mails the following:

CNN requests an urgent correction to the story you are running. Please modify your headline as well so that it’s absolutely clear that Mrs Shaw has no issue with CNN at all.

CNN Statement

This story is not true. CNN has been told by Lynne Shaw that the accusations reported to have been made by her in the UK Press Association story are not accurate. She has no issue with CNN.

The alleged broadcast never happened and CNN at no time compromised her or the safety of her husband as reported.

Ends

Please note there will be an advisory on this imminently from the Press Association, as the original source of the story.

Many thanks,

Joel

Joel Brown

Senior Press Officer

CNN Europe, Middle East & Africa

We’ll see what Wales Online has to say.

Meantime, another example of the perils of talking to media during a jihadist siege here.

***

Update from the editor of WalesOnline:

ON SATURDAY, the Echo ran a story detailing how Lynne and Kenneth Shaw, of Penarth, claimed broadcaster CNN had put their lives at risk by detailing their location during the recent terror attacks in Mumbai.

The story was taken from the Press Association news agency, who have since stated: “Press Association would like to make clear that the interviewee’s allegations that CNN broadcast details compromising her and her husband’s safety have since been clarified by the interviewee’s husband to Press Association as ‘not valid’.”

I would be grateful if you could post the above clarification. I should also let you know that the article has now been removed from WalesOnline.co.uk…