A regional daily has backed down on describing a drug dealer as the “boyfriend” of a dead teenager – despite a coroner confirming the pair were in a relationship.

Brighton daily The Argus initially stood by its use of the term to describe Reis Forde after he complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation about the newspaper’s coverage of an inquest into the death of 17-year-old Sophie Read.

But, after Forde pursued the complaint, The Argus agreed to remove all reference to him being Ms Read’s boyfriend from its website.

The Argus had reported Ms Read “had taken a cocktail of alcohol, heroin and cocaine after spending the night with her boyfriend Forde, 26, a convicted drug dealer”.

But complaining under Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors’ Code of Practice, Forde, pictured, said he had explained during the inquest that he was not Ms Read’s boyfriend.

Denying a breach of Code, The Argus referred IPSO to the verdict of coroner Karen Henderson, who said: “She [Ms Read] told her friend that she was in a relationship with a man who was known as Rex, but his name was Reis Forde and that they had been in a relationship since January.”

The Argus said it did not consider the difference between the phrases “in a relationship” and “boyfriend” to be significantly different.

But, after IPSO began an investigation into the matter, The Argus offered to remove the words “her boyfriend” from all the stories they appeared in.

Forde, who has since been jailed for four years for drug dealing, said that this would resolve the matter to his satisfaction, and IPSO therefore discontinued its investigation.

The full resolution statement can be read here.