A regional daily has apologised to a local MP for a story which suggested he wanted better facilities for 100-year-old cyclists.
Southend daily the Echo published an article on 7 December after Southend West MP David Amess made comments in Parliament about sustainable local transport.
But he complained to the Press Complaints Commission about the article, which negotiated the publication of the following clarification and apology:
“In an article on December 7, to which readers responded in published letters, the Echo reported questions asked in Parliament by David Amess MP in relation to sustainable local transport, in which he said ‘Like most cycle networks in the country, ours does not best meet the needs of centenarians’.
“We would like to make clear that Mr Amess’s comments were intended to emphasise his overall point that the ageing population rely on buses rather than bicycles; he was not asking for better provisions for hundred-year-old cyclists.
“We apologise to Mr Amess for any distress caused and are happy to set the record straight.”
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I say, more power to cycling centenarians, in whose numbers I hope to eventually be counted!
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Why on earth should a paper apologise in such grovelling fashion (“any distress caused”…do me a favour, he’s an MP). He said it anyway, so he was inviting that kind of angle. If Amess felt strongly about it, let him write a letter. The paper should have defended this.
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The PCC are well hard when it comes to putting the boot in to regionals and locals. They seems rather less gung-ho when they’re up against the News of the World. Funny that, isn’t it?
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If he was quoted accurately, there was no need to apologise for anything! This poor sensitive MP should choose his words more carefully.
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Couldn’t agree more northernhack. If I’d heard an MP say that I’d have reported it in exactly the same way.
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It’s a sad day when an MP, or anyone else, dare not use a bit of obvious sarcasm for emphasis because it’s liable to being misinterpreted by reporters with, apparently, insufficient grasp of the subtleties of language. Isn’t it funny how taking one sentence out of context can mislead, if you choose carefully?
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