A daily newspaper has been absolved of wrongdoing after one of its journalists used a false name to cover a speech made by a senior aide to Donald Trump.

The Independent Press Standards Organisation has backed the use of subterfuge by a journalist from The Scotsman after the resulting story prompted a complaint to the watchdog.

The story in question concerned an event at which Sarah Malone, the executive vice president of Trump International, and other speakers discussed the president, pictured, and his business dealings in Scotland.

But the story’s publication prompted a complaint to IPSO by Thomas Malone, Ms Malone’s father, who claimed it had breached Clause 2 (Privacy) and Clause 10 (Clandestine devices and subterfuge) of the Editors’ Code of Practice.

Mr Malone, who was himself named in the story, had established post-publication that the reporter had made an audio recording of the event after gaining entry to it using a false email address and name, and said that there was no public interest which justified these measures.

Furthermore, he said that he found the conduct of the reporter insulting and distressing because the event had taken place in a church, and that there had been no justification for naming him in the story.

The Scotsman accepted in response that Clause 10(ii) was engaged to a limited degree but said that there was a sufficient public interest to justify the behaviour of the reporter, which had been discussed between the reporter and the news editor prior to the event.

It had understood the event to be the first time that any employee of the Trump Organisation had given a public address in Scotland since Donald Trump was elected President, and had considered it necessary for the journalist to attend and record proceedings in order to ensure that the event was accurately reported.

The Scotsman believed it was reasonable to assume that the journalist would not have been granted admittance if he took an open approach, as he had previously reported on Trump International Scotland’s activities and, as a result, had been blocked on social media by the business.

It said that aside from using a false name to book the tickets, he had not taken any other steps to disguise his identity.

IPSO noted the reporter had engaged in a very low level of misrepresentation in that he had used a false email address and name to book a ticket to the event, but it found the action taken by the journalist to gain entry to the event was proportionate to the public interest served.

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