Resolution Statement: Complaint 01605-15 Hicken v Worksop Guardian

Resolution Statement: Complaint 01605-15 Hicken v Worksop Guardian

Summary of complaint

1. Liam Hicken complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation that the Worksop Guardian had breached Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors’ Code of Practice in an article headlined “Revealed: Find out which Worksop pubs police were called out to most last year”, published on 11 March 2015. 

2. The complainant expressed concern that the newspaper had published inaccurate figures regarding the number of times police had been called to pubs in Worksop. He noted that some of the pubs listed had been closed for many years. 

3. The newspaper said the online article should have made clear that the numbers included police calls to areas around premises, as well as to premises. The inaccuracy did not appear in the print version of the story. 

Relevant Code Provisions

4. Clause 1 (Accuracy) 

i) The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information, including pictures. 

ii) A significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distortion once recognised must be corrected, promptly and with due prominence, and - where appropriate - an apology published. In cases involving the Regulator, prominence should be agreed with the Regulator in advance. 

Mediated outcome

5. The complaint was not resolved through direct correspondence between the parties. IPSO therefore instigated an investigation into the matter. 

6. The newspaper offered to publish the following wording beneath the online article: 

An earlier version of this article stated that the numbers referred to police call-outs to pubs and clubs in Worksop. We accept that the figures also included calls to areas around the premises. The article has been amended accordingly. We are happy to clarify the matter. 

7. The complainant accepted the newspaper’s offer as a resolution to his complaint. 

8. As the complaint was successfully mediated, the Complaints Committee did not make a determination as to whether there had been any breach of the Code. 

Date complaint received: 14/03/2015

Date complaint concluded by IPSO: 05/05/2015