Manchester Evening News editor Paul Horrocks has reaffirmed his support for the Press Complaints Commission – and explained when and why he would sanction long lens photography in his paper.

As a member of the Commission, he helps make decide on instances where newspapers have made factual mistakes or gone too far on privacy, intrusion or other breaches of the Editors’ Code of Practice.

During a “live” question-and-answer session at the paper’s website Manchesteronline, he denied the Press Complaints Commission was a toothless tiger, and reaffirmed his backing for a self-regulatory system.

He said: “No editor wants to be on the wrong end of a PCC adjudication which has to be published in their newspaper.

“Self-regulation may not be perfect but I believe it is the best way forward.”

Paul, himself is a member of the commission, believes the experts involved can make unbiased judgements on possible breaches of the Editor’s Code of practice.

He said: “The PCC has a majority of lay members drawn from the general public. It is right that working editors should have a role because they have knowledge of most issues affecting the media and people in the news.

“Editors who have a complaint against their own newspaper are not allowed to take part in the adjudication process if they are members of the PCC. Lay members always have the final say.”

He also backed the use of long-lens photography – if it was in the public interest.

“This is a sensitive issue and there are strict PCC guidelines about the use of long lens photography,” he said.

“In my opinion it should only be used to photograph people without their knowledge if the public interest is being served such as the identification of criminals, or wrong doers.

“Long lens photography of celebrities or the general public in places where they have an expectation of privacy is not acceptable.”

Readers also asked him about the content of the Manchester Evening News – including what was seen as “bad” news – and how errors creep into the copy.

He said: “It is often said that bad news sells newspapers and to some extent that is true.

“But we try very hard to give an accurate balance of daily life in Greater Manchester which means covering many more subjects other than just crime.

“We must be accurate in our portrayal of current affairs in the region we serve but we should not be depressing and look for stories which are uplifting.

“Tackling mistakes is something I constantly remind the staff about. Proof reading is not a dedicated job as it used to be many years ago and spelling mistakes can creep in, much to my annoyance. We must do more to correct the problem.

“It is not that journalists can’t spell but mistakes are made through rushing the production process.”

Some readers were also disappointed about how they felt the MEN was a step behind the national press on the David Beckham transfer saga – but Paul was adamant they followed the rights course, quoting many named sources, including Beckham’s family, who said he wanted to stay with Manchester United.

He said: “Unlike national newspapers which report soccer rumours on a daily basis, the MEN sports desk rely on factual stories, substantiated by a named source where possible. In the Beckham case we published interviews from Ted Beckham and from David stating quite clearly he wanted to stay at Man Utd.

“He obviously changed his mind when the club made it clear he was for sale and we changed our story accordingly.”

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