Complaint
This online article reported that a referendum by North Yorkshire Council had been prompted by a dispute over Newby and Scalby Council’s handling of bullying allegations against its Town Clerk. The Town Clerk complained that she had been named in the article as the subject of the allegations but had not been given the opportunity of responding to them. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½â€™s editorial guidelines on fairness, contributors and consent.
Outcome
The relevant guidelines say “When our output makes allegations of wrongdoing, iniquity or incompetence or lays out a strong and damaging critique of an identifiable individual or institution the presumption is that those criticised should be offered a right of reply, that is, given a fair opportunity to respond to the allegationsâ€. The ECU noted that the author of the article had made number of efforts to obtain a response from Newby and Scalby Council, culminating in an interview with the Council Vice-Chair, the upshot being that the Council confirmed the complainant’s name as the staff-member involved. However, it did not consider the Council could be viewed as representing the complainant’s interests – and, as she was named in the article in connection with potentially damaging allegations, the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½â€™s editorial standards of fairness required that she herself should have been offered an opportunity to respond.
Upheld
Further action
The finding was reported to the management of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ England and discussed with the relevant editorial team.