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Prisoner denies gay ‘tryst’ with sex offender in complaint to IPSO

NewIPSOA prisoner complained to the press watchdog over a daily newspaper’s claim he had a gay “tryst” with another male sex offender.

Robert Greens complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation that the Daily Record breached Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors’ Code of Practice in a story reporting that he had been returned to prison during day release.

The Glasgow-based Record reported he had met another male sex offender and “had managed to grab a few minutes together in the toilets”.

It said that the “tryst” had been discovered through messages on an undeclared mobile phone and that “explicit phone messages” had “made it clear there had been a sexual relationship” between the two men.

Greens, who had previously been convicted of a serious sex offence, said the story was inaccurate because he was not gay, had not been caught in a toilet with another man, nor had he ever owned a secret phone or sent explicit text messages to another man.

The Record denied a breach of code and said it had presented information as a quote from a source, adding it was confident the information was accurate.

After IPSO began its investigation the Record offered to delete the story from its website, resolving the matter to the satisfaction of Greens.

The full resolution statement can be read here.