There was widespread condemnation today of a story which appeared in the front of yesterday’s Sun newspaper.

The top selling tabloid led on their front page with a story entitled ‘Muggers £4 million on Lottery’. The story referred to Scot Mr. Neil Murray who scooped the windfall on the National lottery. Mr. Murray mugged an 88 year old woman in 1999 of her purse which contained just £6.

Murray, who is a gambling addict, used the money stolen to pump into arcade fruit machines.

The Sun states that he was given 150 hours of community service as punishment for the robbery and he was ordered to attend Gamblers Anonymous.

A family friend is reported to have said “He is very ashamed of what he did. I believe he now has his gambling under control, though he obviously must have a liking for it.”

The paper subtly insinuated that the Scottish man is not entitled to receive the money based on his past experiences.

Reacting to the story the website anorak.co.uk which claims to keep tabs on the tabloids said “ So he is a gambling addict. To the Sun, he is a beast who doesn’t deserve his jackpot winnings. The fact that the crime took place eight years ago also doesn’t seem to matter to the Sun. A crime is a crime. Rehabilitation is not an option.”

Murray who was working as an assistant manager in a Costcutters store when he bought the winning ticket is now using the money to go back to University to finish his Masters degree.

Amazingly the Sun finished the story with the following line “Last night a spokeswoman for lottery operators Camelot said: “Everyone is allowed to win.”

Perhaps the use of a dictionary in the Sun offices would assist them when writing stories. It would certainly have saved them the price of the phone call to Camelot!