The press watchdog has revealed the five most complained about regional press titles in 2022 – but just two complaints were fully upheld against them.

Figures released by the Independent Press Standards Organisation show Reach plc-owned tWales Online, MyLondon, the Manchester Evening News, Hull Daily Mail and Edinburgh Live were the regional titles it received the most complaints about last year.

However, of the 107 complaints found to be in IPSO’s remit in total about the publications, just two were upheld in full – one against Wales Online and one against the MEN.

A further two were upheld in part, against MyLondon and Edinburgh Live respectively.

Edinburgh Live received the highest number of complaints out of the five that were found to be in IPSO’s remit, but 35 were rejected, three were not pursued by the complaint and one was resolved directly.

Next was Wales Online, with 16 out of 24 complaints rejected. A further three each were resolved directly and not pursued, while one was not upheld after an investigation.

Eleven out of 15 complaints against both MyLondon and the MEN were rejected. A case involving the London title was resolved through mediation, another directly and a third was not upheld, while one complaint against the MEN was not pursued, another resolved through mediation and a third not upheld.

Ten out of 13 complaints against the Hull Daily Mail were rejected, while none of the other three made it to the adjudication stage.

The statistics appeared in IPSO’s annual report, which came after a review into the organisation by former senior civil servant Sir Bill Jeffrey.

Among Sir Bill’s recommendations was for industry standards on the use of artificial intelligence in journalism to be developed.

IPSO chief executive Charlotte Dewar, pictured, said: “The process of preparing this report has given us the opportunity to reflect on an extraordinary year for IPSO.

“We published a five-year strategy setting out how we would build on the expertise and experience we have accumulated during our first eight years. Our work and processes were put under the microscope by Sir Bill Jeffrey, leading to a useful set of suggestions for areas in which we can further improve.”