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 Birmingham News
Andrew Nickson of Birmingham complained that the headline of a front page article 'Girls mutilated in city schools' misleadingly suggested that girls were being mutilated in local schools. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper accepted that the headline was a mistake and published a correction on the point.

Evening Star
Stephanie Cameron of Twickenham complained on behalf of her mother – who had been involved in a serious road accident – that a journalist had intruded into her privacy by attempting to contact her when she was in hospital. She also raised concerns that the journalist had breached Clause 4 (Harassment) of the Code through the manner in which she tried to contact both her mother and father. (Clauses 3, 4)
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the journalist involved sought to explain the situation from her perspective and expressed regret for the obvious distress that her approach had caused the complainant's family. She also indicated that she would bear in mind the concerns raised by the complainant in similar future situations.

The Herald
Sunil Abeyewickreme complained on behalf of Dr William John Cross that an article inaccurately reported that the Mariner Dental Practice in Falkirk was a 'Top NHS Earner' with earnings of £975,347. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper agreed to publish an apology to the complainant making clear that the inclusion of the Mariner Dental Practice in such a list was inaccurate.

Dursley Gazette
Liz Lewis of Martin Powell Communications complained on behalf of development company Crest Nicholson that an article on redevelopment in Dursley and its impact on a local Scout group was inaccurate and misleading. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper prominently published a statement from the company on the matter in full.