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Mum’s disgust at apology for use of Jayden picture By George Welch THE mother of a Didcot teenager murdered in 2013 says she is ‘disgusted’ by an apology issued by a national newspaper after she was wrongly identified. Mail Online, the Daily Mail’s website, has apologised after using a picture of Jayden Parkinson, pictured right, in a montage of people thought to be missing in the Manchester Arena bombing on May 22. Twenty-two people were killed and 250 injured in a suicide attack at an Ariana Grande concert more than three years after the teenager died. A ‘viral’ social media post of missing people, which included the face of 17-year-old Jayden, was published by Mail Online the following day. Jayden was strangled by her exboyfriend Ben Blakeley in a jealous fit of rage. Her body was found buried in the graveyard of All Saints Church, Didcot in December 2013. After fi ling a formal complaint, Jayden’s mother Samantha Shrewsbury received a letter with an apology and a ÂŁ150 donation to a charity she set up from the Mail Online – but she said she was ‘disgusted’ at its response. She said: “It was a bit of a kick in the teeth considering they are such a big company.
“I am not impressed, it took so long to get any reply at all.� She said people from all over the world have been in touch with her since, to express their sympathy. In a letter to Ms Shrewsbury, editorial manager at Mail Online Ashlee Gagui, apologised for causing her family ‘further grief’. She added: “The image montage was created by a social media user and had gone viral by the time we published it. “As soon as we understood the photo to be a fake, we removed it from our website and internal systems.� Ms Shrewsbury, who set up Jayden’s Gift to provide comfort for teenagers who have suffered domestic abuse, said in a series of tweets: “Those of you who know about Manchester bombing n my child’s picture being used etc it’s taken 8 weeks to receive a letter of apology lol. “I’m disgusted at the response do they not go through so many before being published etc. “The donation is going straight into Jayden’s Gift.� Ms Shrewsbury created a memorial garden in Didcot’s Foxhall Road in April 2015 in memory of her murdered daughter. Blakeley was sentenced to life in prison in July 2014.
Future looks bright for little stars
Children at a Didcot nursery entered a new chapter in their lives as they celebrated their graduation with a colourful display. Pre-school children at Bright Horizons Little Stars nursery played
a parachute game, catapulting various objects into the air, as they sang their graduation song. Parents and grandparents looked on proudly as the children collected a graduation certificate, a goody
bag and a piece of graduation cake. Nursery manager Claire Sellwood said: “We wish all of the children well as they get set to open up a new chapter in their lives at big school.�
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