View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Media Law
September 12, 2014

PCC: Misleading Daily Telegraph article needlessly identified the wife of convicted paedophile

By Dominic Ponsford

The Daily Telegraph has become the last newspaper to be censured by the Press Complaints Commission after it needlessly identified the wife of a convicted paedophile.

It was found to breached Clause 9 of the Editors’s Code (reporting of crime) and Clause 1 (Accuracy).

The adjudication was published in full across the bottom of page two of the paper. The PCC has now closed and been replaced by the Independent Press Standards Organisation.

A woman complained that an article headlined "Facebook paedophile walks free from court", published on 14 May 2014, identified her as a relative of a person convicted of crime and was also misleading.

The article reported criticism of the woman’s husband following his conviction on eight charges of inciting children to engage in sexual activity and two charges of making indecent images of children. It stated that he was married to her, identified her by her full name and gave details of her age, profession, and education.

The woman said that she was irrelevant to the defendant's crime and, contrary to the article's implication, had been separated from him for over a year.

The Telegraph said that when it was initially contacted about the matter it had immediately amended the article, which it believed had been based on other press coverage, to remove her name and note the separation.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

Upholding her complaint the PCC said: “In this instance, while the defendant's marital status formed part of the circumstances of his crime, the complainant had played no direct role in the crimes.

“There was no suggestion that she had been named or referred to in the proceedings, or that she had attended court or otherwise elected to associate with the defendant. She had separated from him before his trial. The Commission concluded that she was not genuinely relevant in these circumstances, and the complaint under Clause 9 was upheld.”

On the issue of not making clear that the woman was no longer married to the convicted man, the PCC said: “While the Commission accepted that the newspaper had swiftly corrected the article when made aware of the position, no evidence had been provided to suggest that it had made inquiries on this issue before publication. This constituted a failure to take care over the accuracy of the article, and a breach of Clause 1."

Topics in this article : ,

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network