A story in a local London newspaper about asbestos in a school led to a complaint from a local authority.

Brent Council complained that the Kilburn Times’ story about asbestos being found in a local primary school contained an inaccurate quote when it suggested that ‘half of parents’ had taken their children out of Brentfield Primary School following the discovery.

In a complaint to the press watchdog James Diamond, principal communications officer for Brent Council, said he was further concerned that the newspaper had failed to make clear that the asbestos had been removed from the school by the time the article was published and had failed to print a letter from the council on the matter.

The complaint was resolved when the newspaper published a letter from the authority making it clear that the asbestos had been removed from the school.

The letter from the council’s director of children and families said the paper had been ‘irresponsible’ in failing to report this fact.

It read: “Your newspaper was told prior to publishing the story that the removal of the asbestos material was started on 30 August and completed on 9 September, ahead of schedule.

“The Health and Safety Executive was informed about the discovery of the asbestos material and the removal work was carried out safely and securely in strict accordance with HSE regulations.

“Furthermore, pupils could not have come into contact with the material, which was sealed under a window sill and had not been disturbed previously. Air tests subsequently showed the environment at the school to be safe.”