Shereen Sunday interview: Professor Sheila McLean
Everyone may know who we are talking about since names are being bandied about on Twitter and in conversation, but, as I write this, broadcasters are still not allowed to name names.
So when the Sunday Herald raised the stakes by publishing a photo of a Premier League footballer with his eyes blacked out, all we could do was state that fact and move on. We all knew who it was but the legal advice was we couldn't say.
It makes for some very nervous moments on live broadcasting. You're terrified you're going to develop some form of Tourettes and just blurt out the name. No-one did but I suspect it's only a matter of time before someone somewhere does.
The issue of privacy came up again as we talked about the former Head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn facing sexual assault charges in the US. Lots more stories were emerging in the Sunday papers about his womanising and allegations of previous attempted assaults. The French have very strict privacy laws which have prevented many of these stories coming out before. Is this an argument against super-injunctions? Is it an argument for the British tradition of "kiss and tell" journalism? Lots of soul searching in both countries.
My special guest this week is well used to dealing with complex moral dilemmas. Professor Sheila McLean's field is Medical Ethics. She invented the first course in Law and Medical Ethics that she still teaches at Glasgow University. Sheila has one of those voices that I could listen to all day. She also has an extraordinary ability to dissect some very controversial and difficult subjects from cloning to end of life issues, providing clear, common-sense advice. They should get her on to super-injunctions.
Listen to Shereen, Sunday 0900 on BBC Radio Scotland
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