Editors are being reminded to reply quickly to readers who make a complaint about an article that has appeared in their newspaper.

The Press Complaints Commission has published a Best Practice note on editorial co-operation and has pointed out that swift action could avoid a formal PCC investigation.

This follows a small number of cases where editors have not replied until an official complaint was registered with the watchdog.

The commission has also reminded editors that they should not unnecessarily delay replies to it during an investigation, and if there is likely to be a delay they should let the Commission know as soon as possible.

The Best Practice note also says editors should make sure that readers are aware of the PCC by carrying regular advertising slots and telling complainants about its existence if the problem cannot be solved directly.

It adds that once a complaint is resolved, details should be tagged to the original archived piece and made as widely available as possible within the industry on any shared systems so that errors or intrusions are not repeated by others.

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