If this whole thing really was a lie, then I'm not convinced this is peripheral. The coverage was prior to the trial and would have affected public perception of the accused.
The account given of things in that post also deepens my suspicions about Colin Caffell. I've never taken to him. I've always thought there is something a bit disingenuous about him.
This was Mike Fielder's job. It's what he was paid to do; smear suspects/witnesses in a national newspaper prior to proceedings in order to influence opinion.
We have thus far found only three examples of Fielder's reporting. Two of those examples (Carmen Proetta and Colin Stagg) are entirely dishonest and made up wholly of lies and misinformation. It is not disputed that his reporting on these cases was dishonest or that he perjured himself in the case of Carmen Proetta during the libel trial. It is also beyond dispute that his lies happened to support the CPS/Police/official government position and smeared suspects/witnesses on their behalf.
Whether he held those views in good faith or merely did so for money is unknown and for yourself to decide. The smear jobs on the Proetta and Stagg were also, coincidentally or not, prior to judicial proceedings.
Nobody has found any example of a Fielder report that is undisputed fact. Which brings us to the third
known example of a Fielder story.
We are to believe that a hack whose only known reporting thus far has been smearing with sexual allegations and innuendo, one of those times leading to him committing perjury, is this time telling the truth with his sleazy allegations and innuendo. His admission that he saw no photos could be seen by those with a cynical disposition as convenient, giving him licence to not have to accurately describe any of the pictures. Funnily enough he didn't accurately describe any of the pictures and instead, the hack with a track record for writing wild and sleazy smears and innuendo, described some non existent photos involving sex toys that nobody claims existed ever.
It should be clear what Fielder was and his role. There is no mystery.