By 3 News online staff
Pebbles Hooper has resigned from her role as the co-editor of New Zealand Herald Weekend gossip column Spy.
"Today I accepted the resignation of Pebbles Hooper, effective immediately,"Herald Weekend editor Miriyana Alexander said in a statement.
"She will no longer co-edit the Spy pages in the Herald on Sunday, or appear in the Weekend Herald's Canvas magazine.
Hooper caused a stir after she described the accidental gassing deaths of a mother and her three children in Ashburton as "natural selection" in a tweet on Saturday.
Hooper, the daughter of fashion designers Francis Hooper and Denise L'Estrange-Corbet, wrote the comment about Cindy George, and her three children, Pio, 5, Teuruaa, 3, and two-year-old Telyzshaun.
Police say George and her children died from the car fumes after the vehicle was left running, in an attempt to charge the battery, in a garage.
Police say the family, who were house-sitting for relatives, may have lain dead and undiscovered for up to a week.
Hooper's tweet prompted major backlash from the Ashburton community and other social media users.
She removed the tweet a short time later and attempted to justify her choice of words.
"I deeply regret any distress caused to the family. I apologise for my wording and take responsibility for upsetting those involved, and I was careless in my actions," she wrote.
"The issue I regrettably tried to raise was about parental negligence and the precautions needed to ensure the safety of those who are unable to care for themselves.
"I never aimed to target or isolate this issue to one family. Again, for my actions and have the family in my thoughts."
Hooper later deactivated her Twitter account.
"As I said on Sunday, the views she expressed in her tweet were distressing, and are obviously not shared by me, or the Herald on Sunday,said Alexander.
"I have also apologised to a family spokesman for the contents of the tweet and the distress it caused them."
3 News
source: newshub archive
