spotlight on ethics following resignation

Hi, my name is Siggi (Sigurður in full) Sverrisson, and this first blog of mine is a part of a course project at the University of Stirling where I am going for my MSc in Public Relations.

One of many commonly discussed themes in connection with public relations is ethics. With PR striving to rid itself of the notion that the practice is propaganda-oriented, issues on ethics arise on a regular basis.

Mike Granatt, an aide for Michael Martin (see picture to the left), Speaker of the House of Commons, has resigned for "ethical reasons" having unintentionally given wrong information to a journalist after being misled by Commons officials, according to the BBC website.

With an on-going debate on PR and ethics, it would be interesting to see what readers think of Granatt's decision. Should he have stayed on given the fact that he was misled or did he make the right decision by not only shouldering his own responsibility but also of the ones that misled him?