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.

Worthing Herald
S Adamson, on behalf of Crown Agents, complained that a piece about a delegation of visiting Ukrainians contained inaccuracies. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The matter was resolved when the complainant accepted the paper's offer to publish a letter in reply to the original piece.

Greenock Telegraph
G Lappin, of Greenock, complained that a report of his court case contained inaccuracies. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The matter was resolved when the paper printed a further accurate report on the matter.

The Scotsman
Kenny Smith, Scottish Secretary to the BNP, complained that the newspaper had inaccurately claimed that it was the British National Party, rather than the National Front, which planned to march in Aberdeen. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The matter was resolved when the newspaper wrote the complainant a letter of explanation and published a correction on the matter.

Andersonstown News
Cyril Jones of Dunmurry complained that an article about the aftermath of an Apprentice Boys parade in the area contained inaccuracies. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The matter was resolved when the newspaper published a follow-up article in which the allegations were denied.

Milton Keynes Citizen
P M West of Milton Keynes complained that an article inaccurately suggested that she was prepared to take a hostage to force the council to carry out repairs on her home. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper assured the complainant that it would not publish any news stories about her in the future and published a clarification on the matter.

Manchester Evening News
M Hopkins of Wigan complained that an inquest report into the death of his brother was misleading and inaccurate. He was also concerned that the report intruded into his family's grief. (Clauses 1, 5)
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper published a clarification in addition to sending the complainant's family a letter expressing its regret for any distress caused.

Tri-News
S Wilson complained that an article about the women's event in the Athens Olympic Triathlon event contained inaccuracies. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The publication acknowledged that it had printed inaccurate information and printed a correction and apology in the following edition.

Hull Daily Mail
Howard Peel of Hull complained that the newspaper had published a number of hoax letters purporting to be from him and two others. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The matter was resolved directly between the newspaper and the complainant.

Press Association
Saber Chowdhury of Watford complained that a photograph of his wife and sister-in-law had been used misleadingly. He requested from the Press Association a list of all the organisations to which it had issued the picture. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the Press Association agreed to issue an advisory to its customers requesting that it should not be re-published.

Macclesfield Express Advertiser
Sarah Keddy of Cheshire complained that an article had inaccurately reported that her former husband had committed suicide as a result of her remarriage. She made clear that she had not remarried and had no plans to do so and, furthermore, noone could be in a position to know why her former husband had killed himself. (Clauses 1, 5)
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper accepted that it had published a rash and ill-informed story and wrote a letter of apology to the complainant and her son.

Evening Standard
Mark Robson, the Treasurer of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, complained that a diary piece had inaccurately suggested that a third year student had been denied accommodation due to the admission to the college of Nicholas Blair. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper published a letter from the President of Lady Margaret Hall.

Littlehampton Gazette
Mr and Mrs Smith complained that an article about their daughter (who was given an ASBO order earlier in the year) inaccurately connected her to persistent problems in the locality. (Clauses 1, 2)
Resolution: The matter was resolved when the paper allowed the parents an opportunity to reply to the article in the form of a published letter.

Deadline Scotland
L Taylor of Livingston complained that photographs had been taken of her in a manner which invaded her privacy. (Clause 3)
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the news agency destroyed all pictures of the complainant and apologised to her directly for any distress caused.

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