We can't let newspapers 'get away with it' after death of Caroline Flack, says Yorkshire MP Tracy Brabin

TV presenter Caroline Flack, who died this weekend. Pic: PA

A Yorkshire MP says newspapers shouldn't be allowed to "get away with" invading the privacy of celebrities as recriminations continued following the death of Caroline Flack.

Shadow Culture Secretary Tracy Brabin rounded on the newspaper industry over it treatment of the television host, who was found dead at the age of 40 at her home in east London on Saturday, after taking her own life.

Miss Flack, who was described as "vulnerable" by her management, had pleaded not guilty to assaulting her boyfriend Lewis Burton at her former flat in north London in a court hearing in December.

Think before you post nasty comments on social media - Gareth Ellis

The shock news of her death prompted a flood of tributes from celebrities. But it also brought questions about the decision to persist with prosecuting her for the alleged assault on her boyfriend, and about the pressures faced by TV celebrities from the press and social media.

Her management company criticised the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for pressing ahead with what it called her "show trial" even after her boyfriend said he did not support it.

By Sunday evening, an online petition calling for a Government inquiry into "the practices and policies of mainstream media organisations and social media platforms in their efforts to protect members of the public from harm" had more than 200,000 signatures.