Date Received : 16/05/16
Date Concluded : 02/08/16
Details of the case : The article reported that the complainants had separated and that there was going to be a “battle” to decide how their wealth should be distributed. The complainants said that there was no such “battle” following their separation, and that they had reached a mediated, amicable and binding settlement several months before publication of the article. The complainants said that the inaccurate claims also intruded into their private and family life.The newspaper said that the article had been based on information provided by a confidential source, who was in a position to know the family’s feelings about the separation. It did not believe that the article was inaccurate, and it did not accept that the information amounted to an intrusion into the complainants’ privacy.
Clauses alleged to have been contravened : Camilla & Shaun Woodward complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation that The Sun breached Clause 1 (Accuracy), Clause 2 (Opportunity to reply) and Clause 3 (Privacy) had been breeched.
Adjudicated by : IPSO
Outcome : The newspaper offered to write a correction article and give an apology.
InFacts vs The Sun
Date Received : 06/06/16
Date Concluded : 14/10/16
Details of the case : The print sub-headline stated that “4 in 5 jobs go to foreign workers”. The article reported that “four in five jobs in Britain have been taken by people from outside the UK in the past year” and that of a “414,000 rise in employment, 80 per cent or 330,000 posts went to foreign-born workers”. It said that “220,000 roles […] were landed by EU nationals”. A graphic setting out the statistics in more detail said that the total number of “new jobs” in the year to March was 414,000, and that 330,000 was the number of jobs “taken by foreign-born workers”.The complainant said that it was inaccurate to state that four in five “jobs” went to foreign workers. While it was accurate to say that there was a 414,000 increase in employment – and that there was a 330,000 increase in employment of non-UK born nationals – both of these figures were net figures: they showed the number of people entering employment, minus the number of people leaving employment. In such circumstances, it was inaccurate to report that a certain proportion of jobs had been taken by foreign-born workers simply on the basis of dividing the figure for the net increase in employment of workers born outside of the UK, by the total rise in employment.
Clauses alleged to have been contravened : InFacts complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation that The Sun breached Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors’ Code of Practice.
Adjudicated by : IPSO
Outcome : Complaint was upheld.
PCC vs The Guardian
Date Concluded : 04/09/14
Details of the case : The investigation concerned a comment piece by the former MP Chris Huhne, who was convicted of perverting the course of justice in 2013. It discussed the subsequent conviction of Constance Briscoe, a barrister and former Recorder, for attempting to pervert the course of justice during the investigation into Mr Huhne's offence, and argued that while correct, his conviction had been the culmination of a flawed process. he Commission received a complaint from a member of the public that any payment for the article would breach the Editors' Code.
Clauses alleged to have been contravened : The Press Complaints Commission investigated whether The Guardian had breached Clause 16 (Payments to criminals) of the Editors' Code of Practice in relation to an article headlined "Yes I was guilty but I was prosecuted on the basis of Constance Briscoe's deception", published on 4 May 2014.
Adjudicated by : PCC
Outcome : Complaint not upheld.
Harris vs Manchester Evening News
Date Received : 10/07/16
Date Concluded : 07/11/16
Details of the case : The article headline was “Embittered woman left judge in fear for safety”, published in print on 24 June 2016, and “Surrogate mum who lost legal fight to keep child made judge ‘fear for her safety’ with stalking and harassment campaign”, published online on 23 June 2016.The article reported on the complainant’s Magistrates’ Court sentencing hearing, where it said a 16-week suspended prison sentence was imposed for harassing a family court judge. It said that the complainant had agreed to be surrogate mother for a couple, but later changed her mind to keep the baby; it said that the judge had ruled that the child should stay with the couple, and had “feared for her life” when the complainant had called to her door.
Clauses alleged to have been contravened : Lian Harris complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation that the Manchester Evening News breached Clause 1 (Accuracy), Clause 2 (Privacy) and Clause 6 (Children) of the Editors’ Code of Practice.
Adjudicated by : IPSO,The Editors’ Code does not deal with the enforcement of reporting restrictions, or the right to anonymity provided for by statute; however, the Code may well be engaged when a reporting restriction, or right to anonymity, is in place. The article contained no other detail which, even on the complainant’s account, might lead to the identification of her child, beyond the complainant’s name. Having regard for the full context of the case, including the effect of the proceedings on the child’s position, the Committee did not consider that publication of the complainant’s name was sufficient to identify the child. There was no breach of Clause 2 or 6.n circumstances where the complainant’s custodial sentence was suspended, the Committee did not consider that the inaccuracy in the online article on the length of the suspended sentence imposed was significant; there was no breach of Clause 1.
Outcome : The complaint was upheld.
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