13/6/22: Ofcom has dismissed a fairness complaint by law firm Leverets made on behalf of Ghislaine Maxwell against Channel 4 News.
Maxwell’s complaint centred on a June 2021 Channel 4 News broadcast about the Metropolitan Police Service. The first half of the programme had investigated allegations of corruption against the police as it pertained to the unsolved 1987 axe murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan. The second half looked at the Met’s alleged failure to investigate accusations that Maxwell, along with late billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein, had sexually abused women in the UK.
Leverets argued that the programme’s format linked the allegations against Maxwell with the unrelated story of Morgan’s murder, and that it left viewers with the impression that Maxwell had been corruptly allowed to get away with criminal offences in the UK.
Ofcom disagreed, ruling “there was no unfairness to Ms Maxwell”. The regulator said “it would have been clear to viewers that the two investigations conducted by the programme makers were distinct” and “at no point did the programme state that the decision by the Met not to investigate serious crimes in which Ms Maxwell was alleged to have been involved was made corruptly”. (Full ruling here)
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