Mistake in court report sees Telegraph commit eighth breach of Editors’ Code under IPSO

The Telegraph has been found to have breached Clause One (accuracy) of the Editors’ Code for an article which was published on Telegraph.co.uk in March 2015.

The article, which was written by a press agency, was a report of an insurance underwriter who was jailed for "harassing five women, putting them in fear of violence, and intimidating three of them".

The man cheated on his wife and waged a campaign of threats against five women, some of whom he had children with.

He was given a three-year jail sentence for the offences.

He complained to press regulator IPSO that a reference in the article to him having broken into one of the women’s homes and stealing her underwear was inaccurate.

He also complained to IPSO that the reference to him as having the nickname “shagger” was also inaccurate.

The Daily Telegraph admitted the complainant had not been accused of breaking into a woman’s home, saying that its journalist had made a mistake.

But it argued the inaccuracy was not significant, given the offences for which the complainant had been convicted. It also added a footnote correction to its story.

In its ruling, IPSO found that the Daily Telegraph’s use of the term “shagger”, which had been heard in court, was not inaccurate.

But the press watchdog said the inaccuracy of reporting that the complainant had broken into his former lover’s home gave a significantly misleading impression.

In its ruling, IPSO, said: “The inaccuracy erroneously introduced a further criminal offence, giving a significantly misleading impression of the crimes committed by the complainant, and was a significantly inaccurate account of the matter heard in court.”

The newspaper had already amended the online article and appended a correction.

This was the Telegraph's eighth breach of the Editors' Code under the Independent Press Standards Organisation (more than any other title) but its first breach this year.