The press watchdog has dismissed a complaint by a German journalist who reportedly complained about the number of Scots wearing “Hitler moustaches.”

Reiner Luyken complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation over a story in The Scotsman published in October 2014.

The story, headlined ‘German journalist slams ‘Hitler moustache’ Scots,’ reported comments made by Mr Luyken about his experiences of living in the Highlands.

Mr Luyken claimed it breached Clause 1 (Accuracy) and Clause 2 (Opportunity to reply) of the Editors’ Code of Practice.

The newspaper said that the articles were based on agency copy and had obtained the agency reporter’s notes, which clearly included the comment under dispute.

Dismissing the complaint, IPSO’s complaints committee found that the comment under dispute was “clearly present in the notes from the agency reporter who had provided the copy.”

It said: “This demonstrated that care had been taken to ensure the accuracy of published information. The newspaper was entitled to rely on the reporter’s notes provided by the agency.

“While the complainant maintained that he had not made the comment under dispute, the Committee did not establish that the article had contained a significant inaccuracy which merited correction under the terms of Clause 1.”

The full ruling can be read here.