A man who was offered a key council post but lost out on his new job because of a political donation he made has been told the Sentinel was right to report on the story.

Len Gibbs complained to the Press Complaints Commission, claiming there were inaccuracies in the paper’s coverage, and that it had been an invasion of his privacy.

He had been offered a job as director of housing at Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

But the offer was withdrawn after it emerged he had donated £100 to the election campaign of city mayor Mike Wolfe, who sat on the interview panel for the job.

The council manager had said Mr Gibbs made a “serious error of judgement” in not declaring the donation and that his position was “untenable” as a result.

But Mr Gibbs claimed The Sentinel’s coverage had contributed to him losing his job and had damaged his reputation.

After investigating the claims, the industry watchdog has now ruled there was no breach of the code of practice. And the Sentinel has been cleared of any wrongdoing in its coverage.

In addition, the PCC said The Sentinel was justified in publishing Mr Gibbs’ photograph and partial address and that it could not establish any “significant inaccuracies” in the reporting or headlines.

It added that the comments from a named councillor were clearly labelled as opinion, as opposed to fact, and as such were justified under the PCC code.

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