The majority of complaints made to the Press Complaints Commission, which raise a possible breach of the Code of Practice, are resolved directly between the Commission's staff, editors and complainants.

These are either settled to the express satisfaction of the complainant following some remedial action by the editor or are not pursued by complainants following an explanation or other response from the publication.

Below are summaries of the latest complaints involving the regional press which fall into the first category.

The Journal (Newcastle)
Mrs U Y S O'Reilly, the head teacher of Wolsingham School and Community College in County Durham, complained that an article reporting allegations of pupils at the school having sex in the playground was unfounded. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The matter was resolved when the editor of the newspaper wrote directly to the complainant to apologise for distress caused to her, other staff, parents and pupils. He suggested that there had been grounds for running the piece – a school governor had called for an investigation into the claims – but accepted that, with hindsight, it would have been prudent to consult people who were closer to the alleged incident prior to running any story. Having already run a follow-up piece putting forward a denial of the allegations, the editor offered to publish a further piece about the school – not relating to the story under complaint – in the paper's soon-to-be-launched 'Our School' column.

Kingston Informer
Olive Elborough, of Surrey, complained that the newspaper had printed her telephone number as the contact for an Alzheimer's Helpline, despite the fact that she has now retired. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper contacted the complainant directly and subsequently changed the number.

East Kent Gazette
Francis McGrorty, of Kent, complained that the newspaper had omitted a line from the bereavement notice he had submitted on the death of his brother. The newspaper's offer of a refund did not subsequently arrive. (Clause 5)
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper apologised for its error and the delay in its initial response, traced the cheque it had sent out and offered to re-run the notice.

Herald Express (Hemel Hempstead)
Robert Mundy, head teacher at St Albert the Great Catholic Primary School, complained that an article was inaccurate when it reported the conclusions of an Ofsted inspection. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper published a letter from the complainant in its following edition alongside a clarification from the editor regarding a particular quotation.

Hailsham Gazette
Chas Parker of Hooe, East Sussex, complained that an article describing problems at a local school was misleading in its portrayal if his involvement. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The matter was resolved when the newspaper published a clarification and set out the complainant's position on a number of points.

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