Below are summaries of the latest complaints involving the regional press which have been resolved between the parties involved, with help from the Press Complaints Commission.

Lancashire Telegraph
Paul Frayne, of Lancashire, complained about an article which reported on the death of his nephew, Ryan Frayne, in Australia.
The complainant raised concerns about the following issues: that the article speculated that his nephew had left the country to start a new life because of an accident in which he had been involved; and that it speculated that he had committed suicide through a drug overdose despite the fact that the inquest into his death had only just opened, and the cause of his death was at that time unknown. (Clause 1, 5).
Resolution: The newspaper said that the article was based on comments made to it by the coroner after the inquest, although this was disputed by the complainant. The newspaper undertook to report on the full inquest when it took place in order to set the record straight on the cause of Ryan’s death. It also undertook to report on the inquest sensitively with no speculation about Ryan’s death being suicide linked to his accident (reserving, of course, the right to report anything that was said as part of the inquest proceedings). The newspaper also published the following apology to the complainant:
Ryan Frayne – An Apology
A story published on July 21 about the death of 21-year-old Ryan Frayne near Sydney referred to him having moved from Feniscowles, Blackburn, to Australia to “start a new life”. Ryan’s family have asked us to point out that he left this country to seek work and not “to start a new life”. In addition, we would like to clarify that at the time the article was published, the cause of Ryan’s death was not known. We apologise for any upset caused by the article.
In addition, the newspaper wrote a letter of apology to the complainant’s family and removed the article from its website. The complaint was resolved on that basis.

Glossop Chronicle
Ms C Vernon, of Lancashire, complained that the newspaper had published a photograph of local MPs at Tameside Hospital, which had been manipulated to include James Purnell MP, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Mr Purnell had been unable to make the photograph and had been added on later by the hospital. (Clause 1).
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper – which made clear that it had carried the photograph provided to it in good faith – published detailed follow-up coverage of the incident, in which Tameside Hospital apologised to the newspaper and its readers. The hospital made clear that, as Mr Purnell had been unable to attend the photo-shoot, a photograph of him taken later in the same spot was merged with the original before being distributed.

Western Daily Press
Richard Evans, head of media relations for the World Cancer Research Fund, complained that a comment piece had contained the implication that those responsible for a recent WCRF inquiry may have motivated by “reasons not unadjacent to money”. (Clause 1).
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper, which argued that the comment was not specifically directed at the WCRF, published the following clarification:
“Further to our article of 8th November, the World Cancer Research Fund wishes to make clear that the members of the panel who made its cancer prevention recommendations worked on a voluntary basis, and were only paid an honorarium of Resolution, £500 per year, which is standard and accepted practice in the scientific community.”

Lancashire Telegraph
Simon Kilby, of Clitheroe, complained that an article about S&B Parking had contained a number of inaccuracies. (Clause 1).
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper published the following correction:
“In a story published on September 6 about the activities of a company called S&B Parking, which was then contracted to carry out car parking services on the Lomeshaye Business Village Estate, Nelson, we quoted company owner Matthew Brough as saying he had “won three test cases” at county court. While “test case” is a popular term a county court cannot create a binding precedent in law – that is something reserved to the High Court. We accept that nothing the county court could have done would constitute a legal “test case” and the headline “Judge rules no tickets fines were lawful” was therefore incorrect. Also we have been unable to prove that the cases were heard. Since motorists identified via CCTV were not parked on a public highway they were not “breaking the law” and the word fine was used to mean a penalty but not one imposed by a court. We apologise for any confusion.”

Newport Advertiser
Terence Spooner – proprietor of Ultimate Private Hire/Taxis in Newport – complained that an article suggesting that taxis could be banned from a local car park to free up space was misleading. (Clause 1).
Resolution: The complainant resolved the matter directly with the newspaper when he was afforded an opportunity to reply.

Liverpool Echo
John Crummy complained that an article about the purchase of his house contained inaccuracies and identified him. (Clause 1).
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper undertook that no further articles about the sale of the property would be published without reference to the editor or the regional managing editor.

Clacton Gazette
Jacqueline Morris, a resident of Haven Village, complained about the coverage of a court action in which she was involved. The court case rested on a claim by the landlord of the park that three residents (one of which was the complainant) had broken the tenancy agreements governing their residency. The complainant contended that the articles had omitted to include the following details of the defence mounted by the residents involved: that the residents had not bought a “holiday home” and that no tenancy agreement had been issued; and that the residents had counter claimed for harassment and misrepresentation. She also raised specific concerns about the following issues in the article: that the action was not initiated by “caravan park managers” or only by “Brightlingsea Haven”, but by the landlord, Brightlingsea Haven Ltd and Hammerton Leisure Ltd; and that the action was against three residents, rather than two as the article claimed. (Clause 1).
Resolution: The newspaper explained that the information in the article had been taken from a copy of the writ concerned. However, when they provided the document, the complainant made clear that the information had been taken from a writ which was out of date. The complainant agreed to resolve her complaint on the basis of a published summary of it on the PCC website.

Colchester Gazette
Jacqueline Morris, a resident of Haven Village, complained about the coverage of a court action in which she was involved. The court case rested on a claim by the landlord of the park that three residents (one of which was the complainant) had broken the tenancy agreements governing their residency. The complainant contended that the articles had omitted to include the following details of the defence mounted by the residents involved: that the residents had not bought a “holiday home” and that no tenancy agreement had been issued; and that the residents had counter claimed for harassment and misrepresentation. She also raised specific concerns about the following issues in the article: that the action was not initiated by “caravan park managers” or only by “Brightlingsea Haven”, but by the landlord, Brightlingsea Haven Ltd and Hammerton Leisure Ltd; and that the action was against three residents, rather than two as the article claimed. (Clause 1).
Resolution: The newspaper explained that the information in the article had been taken from a copy of the writ concerned. However, when they pro
vided the document, the complainant made clear that the information had been taken from a writ which was out of date. The complainant agreed to resolve her complaint on the basis of a published summary of it on the PCC website.