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.

Dartford Times
Madeleine Crow of Dartford complained that an article about the marathon, which was illustrated with a photograph of her running, had inaccurately attributed comments to her regarding Jade Goody running the marathon. In fact, the complainant said that she was running the marathon to raise money for the Lions Hospice and Ellenor Hospice and other than saying she had seen people calling out to Ms Goody she did not make any other comments about her. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper published an item making clear the causes the complainant was supporting in running the marathon and clarifying that she had not been critical of Ms Goody. The editor also wrote to the complainant and apologised if the article had caused her offence.

Herald Express
Carol Dickinson of Devon complained that the newspaper had published a photograph – without her consent – of her grieving at the scene of the accident where her sister had been killed in an incident with a train. (Clause 5)
Resolution: The newspaper first apologised to the complainant for exacerbating her distress following such a tragic accident. The editor sought to explain that the photograph came to be published because of a misunderstanding and accepted that in doing so the newspaper had breached Clause 5 (intrusion into grief or shock) of the Code. The complainant appreciated the newspaper's admission but declined its offer to publish an apology as she felt that this would exacerbate the situation further. The complaint was resolved when the newspaper wrote privately to the complainant to apologise and emphasise that she in no way courted the publicity and had not welcomed it. The newspaper also made a donation to the complainant's charities.

Yorkshire Post
Benjamin Mack complained that an article which reported on the autobiography of actress Claire King had described a situation she had faced involving a blackmailer who was allegedly ordered by the police to keep away from her. The complainant said that, although he had not been named in the article, Ms King had previously alleged in the press that he was the 'blackmailer' so anyone reading the article could have put the information together to identify him. The complainant said that it had previously been accepted in another complaint to the Commission that Ms King had never had a harassment order out against him. He further made clear that he had never been charged or convicted of blackmail. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The newspaper included the relevant extract from Claire King's autobiography to support its position that it could not be responsible for the content of other publications. However, the complaint was resolved when the newspaper agreed to mark its records to reflect the complainant's concerns so that anyone accessing the article would be aware of the dispute.

Press & Journal
David Murray, the Chairman of Glasgow Rangers football club, complained through Levy & McRae solicitors that the newspaper had published a photograph of his home accompanied by sufficient detail to identify its precise location. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper gave an undertaking not to republish the photograph, unless there was a public interest reason for doing so (in which case it would contact the complainant in advance), and marked its records to reflect this.

The Scotsman
David Murray, the Chairman of Glasgow Rangers football club, complained through Levy & McRae solicitors that the newspaper had published a photograph of his home accompanied by sufficient detail to identify its precise location. (Clause 3)
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper – which accepted that the publication of the photograph with the article constituted a violation of the complainant's privacy – gave an undertaking not to republish the photograph or repeat the information from the story that identified his home.