Complaint 02931-16 van den Broeke v Express.co.uk
Summary of complaint
1. Marjory van den Broeke complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation that Express.co.uk breached Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors’ Code of Practice in an article headlined “EU chiefs to waste £1MILLION on luxury gym for pampered MEPs…and YOU’RE PAYING”, published on 12 May 2016.
2. The complainant is the head of the Press Unit at the European Parliament, and expressed concern that the article had misattributed quotations to her. She said that some of the statements had in fact appeared in an internal briefing note.
Relevant Code provisions
3. Clause 1 (Accuracy)
(i) The
press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted
information or images, including headlines not supported by the text.
(ii) A significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distortion must be corrected, promptly and with due prominence, and – where appropriate – an apology published.
Mediated outcome
4. The complaint was not resolved through direct correspondence between the parties. IPSO therefore began an investigation into the matter.
5. The publication offered to remove the complainant’s name from the article, and append the following footnote:
“Clarification
This article originally attributed quotes to Ms Van Den
Broeke. In fact, some of those quotes came from an ‘internal briefing memo’ and
should not have been attributed to Ms Van Den Broeke. We are happy to set the
record straight.”
6. The complainant said the proposed amendment and footnote would resolve the matter to her satisfaction.
7. 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: 23/05/2016
Date complaint concluded by IPSO: 29/06/2016
The Independent Press Standards Organisation C.I.C. is a Community Interest Company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales with registered number 02538908.
