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.

Kent & Sussex Courier
Elaine Johnson, of Southborough, complained that an article about underage drinking had been illustrated with a picture of her 15-year-old son and his friends, which had been published without permission. While her son’s face had been pixellated in the print version of the newspaper, it had not been in an online version of the photograph, which was for sale. In any case, he was recognisable by his clothes. The complainant considered that the positioning of the photograph implied inaccurately that her son had been drinking, which he had not. (Clauses 1, 6).

Resolution: The editor apologised that the photograph had been available for sale online, and indicated that he had tightened the newspaper’s procedures to ensure that such a situation did not arise again. While he did not accept that the use of the photograph breached the Code, the editor offered to publish the following clarification:

“Our report on 14 August about underage drinking in Tunbridge Wells (Underage drinking: worst town problem) was accompanied by a photograph of young people gathered at Wellington Rocks. It was not suggested that those pictured were drinking alcohol but we have been asked to make clear that they were not in fact engaged in any underage drinking. We are happy to make the position clear.”

While the complainant had ongoing concerns about the use of the photograph to accompany the article, she accepted the newspaper’s apology and the publication of the clarification as a resolution to her complaint.

Herald Express
Nigel Green, of Teignmouth, complained that the newspaper’s coverage of the demise of his estate agency had intruded into his private life: his full home address – as well as a photograph of the driveway leading to his property – had been published.

The complainant argued that the sale of his home was a private matter and was not connected to the demise of his business. He also said that he had been subjected to a number of phone calls from journalists at the newspaper, which he considered to constitute harassment. (Clause 3).

Resolution: On the matter of the phone calls, the editor’s position was that the complainant had been contacted twice by journalists, and that he had spoken willingly on both occasions. He argued that there had not been any additional calls.

While the editor did not accept that the publication of the complainant’s address constituted an intrusion into his private life, he removed the house name and number from the online version of the article as a gesture of goodwill. The complaint was resolved on that basis.

Canterbury Adscene
Anthony Porter complained about an article that reported a “mystery accident” involving his son. He said the piece wrongly implied that his son had been drinking at the time of the incident. (Clause 1).

Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper published – with due prominence – the following clarification:

“In an article headlined ‘Drinker suffers horror injuries’ we reported that a 26-year-old man was found unconscious on Calcott Hill on 8 August. We have been asked by Anthony Porter, the father of the victim, to make clear that police tests showed that his son’s blood alcohol levels were low and he was not drunk at the time of the accident.

“We understand that the victim’s injuries were life-threatening and are happy to clarify this point and apologise for the distress caused to his family by the headline. The injured man, Lee Porter, is now on the way to a full recovery.”

London Evening Standard
Catherine Palmer, of Wallington, complained that an article about protests at the Iranian embassy – in which she and her sister had taken part – had stated inaccurately that their mother had fled Iran just before the 1979 revolution. In fact, she had left Iran to study in London a number of years earlier. (Clause 1).

Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper published the following correction and apology:

“Our article of 19 June (Iran embassy staff secretly film British protesters) said that the mother of Michelle and Catherine Palmer had fled Iran just before the 1979 revolution. In fact, she left Iran to study in London a number of years before the revolution, and did not flee for political reasons. We apologise for the misunderstanding.”

Uttoxeter Advertiser
Carmine Moore complained that the newspaper’s coverage of the tragic death of her son was excessive and had intruded into her family’s grief. (Clause 5).

Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper sent the complainant a private letter containing an explanation and an apology.

Sunday Life
John Cochrane, development manager of Trinity Housing, complained that the caption to a photograph showing him with MP Iris Robinson stated inaccurately that the pictured man was Ken Campbell of JKC Construction. (Clause 1).

Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper published the following correction:

“A story published in Sunday Life on 31 May 31 under the headline ‘Iris defends lobbying for builder pal’ was accompanied by a photograph which purported to show Mrs Iris Robinson MP MLA standing beside Mr Ken Campbell of JKC Construction. The photograph in fact showed Mr John Cochrane, development manager of Trinity Housing. We apologise to both Mr Cochrane and Mr Campbell for the error.”