The Press Complaints Commission rejected a man’s complaint against a daily newspaper after it published a picture of him apparently making a Nazi gesture.

Billy Whitehead complained after the picture appeared in the Daily Record in December.

He was suspended from his manager’s job at whisky firm William Grant and Sons after the newspaper published a photo of him making what appeared to be a ‘Sieg heil’ gesture.

However, he said that there had been no Nazi connotations to the event and that the gestures were prompted by the photographer’s request that they put their hands in the air and ‘look lively’.

The picture was taken at the launch of a book about the Motherwell Saturday Service – who call themselves the SS.

Members of the hooligan group, formed in the 1980s, are known for far-right leanings and the trademark straight-arm salute.

The picture used by the Daily Record

The Record reported: “Despite all the evidence, Whitehead complained to the Press Complaints Commission about two of our articles. They carried out a full investigation and the Record had to vigorously defend its reporting.”

The PCC’s decision stated that the complainant highlighted that his fingers were splayed in the photograph, which he said clearly suggested he was waving.

He said that while there had been members of the Motherwell SS at the event, he was not affiliated with the collective.

In its defense the newspaper provided photos from a Motherwell SS Bebo profile which showed men making a similar straight-arm salute. It also provided screen grabs from the complainant’s Facebook page with Saturday Service/SS images saved as profile pictures.

The newspaper did not accept that the images were for research purposes, as alleged by the complainant.

The PCC said they couldn’t tell for sure whether Whitehead was a member of the Motherwell SS or whether his gesture was meant to replicate a Nazi salute.

The report read: “The commission considered that it had been reasonable for the newspaper to infer that the complainant was affiliated with the Motherwell SS, and that the gesture in question sought to replicate a Nazi salute.

“There was a strong public interest in favour of the reporting or discussion of the far-right, or any suggestion of far-right themed behaviour.”