Press Regulation Research Findings

Date and newspaper		15th April 2016 The Sun
Case brought by		Peter Walker
Details of the case
Peter Walker complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation that The Sun breached Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors’ Code of Practice in an article headlined “Cyclists are a danger … make them fully comp”, published in print on 15 April 2016. The complainant said that the 98% figure for cyclists without insurance was inaccurate. He said that of the estimated 5 million cyclists in the UK, 184,500 have third party insurance through their membership of British Cycling, Cycling UK and the London Cycling Campaign.
Clauses alleged to have been contravened	Adjudicated by		Outcome
Clause 1- Accuracy	IPSO		The complaint was not upheld.  There was no breach of Clause 1. Nonetheless, the Committee welcomed the newspaper’s decision to amend the online article, and publish a footnote.

Date and newspaper		1st January 2016 The Sun
Case brought by		Paul McKenna
Details of the case
Paul McKenna complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation that The Sun breached Clause 1 (Accuracy) and Clause 10 (Clandestine devices and subterfuge) of the Editors’ Code of Practice in an article headlined “McKenna’s Brahms ’n hypnotist”, published on 1 January 2016. The article reported that passengers on a transatlantic flight had claimed that the complainant had been “staggering around the cabin” and had spilt his drink on a fellow passenger. The article also reported that “staff stopped offering [the complainant] more alcohol after he became abusive and started staggering around”.  It reported that a spokesman for the complainant had said that “[the complainant] was feeling unwell on the flight. He sincerely apologises for any offence caused”. The complaint said he was not drunk on the flight.
Clauses alleged to have been contravened	Adjudicated by		Outcome
Clause 1- Accuracy Clause 10- Clandestine devices and subterfuge	IPSO		The complaint was upheld under Clause 1. The newspaper had already offered to publish a correction and an apology on page 2 of the newspaper, as well as removing the online article and offering to publish the correction and apology online.

Date and newspaper		21st November 2014 Manchester Evening News
Case brought by		Zhaida Hussain
Details of the case
Zhaida Hussain complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation via a representative that the Manchester Evening News had breached Clause 1 (Accuracy) in an article headlined “Mass brawl between feuding families stops traffic in Levenshulme as dispute over conservatory turns violent”, published on 21 November 2014, and had harassed her and her family in breach of Clause 4 (Harassment) of the Editors’ Code of Practice. The complainant said that the article was a biased attempt to frame the Hussain family, when another family, the Ahmed's, had been equally involved in the fighting.. She said that of the 20 people involved, a number were friends of the Ahmed family. The complainant also said that photographers had harassed the subjects of the story.
Clauses alleged to have been contravened	Adjudicated by		Outcome
Clause 1- Accuracy Clause 4- Harassment	IPSO		The complaint was not upheld. The complainant had alleged that she had been harassed, but had not detailed her complaint in this regard; she had not disputed the newspaper’s contention that the photograph which had accompanied the story had been taken outside court. There were no grounds to establish a breach of Clause 4.
Date and newspaper		25th July 2014 The Guardian
Case brought by		Mr Anthony Brown
Details of the case
The article was about a Labour Party press release which claimed that - following the reduction in the top rate of income tax - the relative share of wealth held by the top one per cent of taxpayers had increased.  The relative share of wealth held by the top one per cent of taxpayers had increased. The complainant said that the article's sub-headline inaccurately summarised this claim, when it stated that Labour had claimed the bottom "90% of taxpayers shared less post-tax income".
Clauses alleged to have been contravened	Adjudicated by		Outcome
Clause 1- Accuracy	PCC		The complaint was resolved when the PCC negotiated the amendment of the article's sub-headline, so that it stated that "90% of taxpayers [had] seen their share of post-tax income fall but top 300,000 [had] more".

Date and newspaper		26th March 2015 Manchester Evening News
Case brought by		Vanessa Arif
Details of the case
The article reported that Jack Smith, a convicted murderer, had confessed to ten unsolved offences, including the burglary of the complainant’s house. The article stated that photographs of the complainant’s late husband, who was murdered in 2006 by an actor who used to appear in TV drama “Shameless”, had been lost in the burglary.
Clauses alleged to have been contravened	Adjudicated by		Outcome
Clause 1- Accuracy Clause 3- Privacy Clause 5- Intrusion into grief and shock	IPSO		This article has been amended to make clear that Changez Arif was murdered by Michael Skeffington in a revenge attack, not a racist attack. The complaint under Clause 3 was not upheld. There was no breach of Clause 5.

Date and newspaper		6th December 2013 The Guardian
Case brought by		Mr David Sutton
Details of the case
The complainant was concerned that the newspaper had published quotations from the trial of Neil Wilson in the context of court cases involving the rape of children. This was inaccurate and misleading as Neil Wilson had not been charged with or convicted of rape. He had been convicted for sexual activity with a child. The complainant was concerned that the inaccurate reporting of the case might result in fewer offences being reported to the police.
Clauses alleged to have been contravened	Adjudicated by		Outcome
Clause 1- Accuracy	PCC		Article was amended, to remove from the opening paragraph two quotes. Further amended on the 28th February 2014 to clarify Neil Wilson was accused with sexual activity with a child not rape.