Stokes takes legal action against 'The Sun' over story about his family's tragic past

London: Ben Stokes and his mother have reportedly launched legal action against 'The Sun' after the UK newspaper published a front-page story with sensitive information about the all-rounder's family.

The Sun had last month published a story which described in detail events of more than 30 years ago involving the deaths of members of Stokes' New Zealand-based family. Over a month after the incident, Stokes and his mother Deborah have filed proceedings against 'The Sun' for invasion of privacy.

Their lawyers will argue that the story breached the family's privacy by bringing up an issue that had been largely forgotten, The Guardian reported. Stokes, who starred in England's maiden World Cup win, had posted a statement on Twitter criticising 'The Sun'. He called the paper "utterly disgusting" for publishing a story that touched on "deeply personal and traumatic events". Stokes, 28, was born in New Zealand but moved to England as a boy.

However, 'The Sun' defended its approach, saying the story had received extensive media coverage in New Zealand at that time. "The Sun has the utmost sympathy for Ben Stokes and his mother but it is only right to point out the story was told with the co-operation of a family member who supplied details, provided photographs and posed for pictures," a spokeswoman for the newspaper said. "The tragedy is also a matter of public record and was the subject of extensive front-page publicity in New Zealand at that time," she added.