Does the OP apply this policy universally? So he would equally object to asterisks in, let us say, f****t and n****r ? Is there anything you think they should avoid quoting on the grounds it might cause offense? Just checking.

Is it the avoidance of words or the use of asterisks, per se that the OP objects to? So if those newspapers just skirted around phrases they found offensive (or thought their readers might find offensive) rather than quoting them with asterisks, would than be any better?

I find it rather more absurd coming from a rag like The Sun, which tells us all about how it's a family newpaper and censors certain words on one page, and then moves rapidly on to bulging tits and lurid (but just slightly coy) descriptions of "5-in-a-bed romps" on the next.