A convict has had his complaint over a Scottish daily’s reporting of his assault trial dismissed by the press watchdog.

The unnamed man complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation that Glasgow daily The Herald breached Clause 1 (Accuracy), Clause 4 (Harassment) and Clause 11 (Victims of sexual assault) in two articles published in 2014 and 2015.

In the first article, the paper reported that, before sentencing him, the court would hear details of how he believed he had been assaulted by his victim. The second article reported the complainant’s defence costs.

The complainant, who had been convicted of a number of assaults, told IPSO that the allegation of assault that he had made against his victim had been of a sexual nature and to identify him in relation to this alleged assault was a breach of Clause 11.

He identified what he believed to be a number of inaccuracies in relation to the statements of the victim in court, and the reporting of his age. He further claimed the article of 2015 constituted harassment, as other people’s defence costs are not reported in the press.

The Herald responded that the complainant’s victim had been charged with assault, not sexual assault, and the assault allegation had been made by the complainant’s barrister in open court.

The newspaper provided a statement from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service that the complainant’s victim had been indicted in relation to two charges; neither of those charges had a sexual element, and the case had not been pursued.

It added its articles were an accurate account of court proceedings, but that if it was the case that it had misreported the complainant’s age it would publish a correction.

The Herald said the complainant was mistaken in believing that other people’s defence costs were not reported by the press because the level of defence costs was a matter of public interest.

Following this response, the complainant confirmed that his victim had never been charged with a sexual assault. He also did not dispute that his contact with IPSO was the first time he had raised concerns that he had been a victim of a sexual assault.

The complaint was not upheld, and the full adjudication can be read here.