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Police interview leads to PCC complaint against daily

A woman complained to the Press Complaints Commission after a regional daily referred to her as “demonic” in a headline.

Ms Aisha Delaney complained about the Hull Daily Mail headline under Clause 1 of the Editor’s Code of Practice, which covers accuracy, and Clause 12 which covers discrimination.

The newspaper said the description of her as a “demonic woman” had been taken from an interview with a police officer.

The complaint was resolved after the newspaper gave assurances to the PCC about the circumstances in which it would use the description, in relation to the complainant, in the future.

The Mail was also the subject of another complaint from an unnamed man who claimed the newspaper had identified him, without his consent, in a story that related to his private life.

The man inquestion complained to the PCC under Clause 3 of the Code, which covers privacy.

In response, the newspaper said the information in question had been provided by the complainant’s partner, and that it had not been asked to withhold it from the article.

The complaint was resolved when the PCC negotiated the removal of the complainant’s surname from the story.

In a third recently resolved case, a woman complained to the PCC in respect of a court report in the Dunfermline Press.

She claimed the newspaper had published information likely to contribute to the identification of a victim of sexual assault, in breach of Clause 11 of the Code.

The complaint was resolved after the PCC negotiated assurances from the newspaper about future coverage of the proceedings.