Professor Crown and the Evening Herald

The Press Ombudsman has decided that the Evening Herald has made an offer of sufficient remedial action to resolve a complaint made by Professor John Crown that an article published about him on 28 December 2009 breached Principle 1 (Truth and Accuracy) of the Code of Practice for Newspapers and Periodicals.

Professor Crown complained that the newspaper reported that he had referred to the life expectancy of pancreatic cancer patients in a television interview following the revelation of the Minister for Finance’s illness, although he had not done so.

Professor Crown submitted a transcript of the interview in question in support of his complaint, and the newspaper offered to publish a clarification noting that “Professor Crown has asked us to point out that he at no stage mentioned life expectancy during the course of the broadcast.” The offer was turned down by Professor Crown.

As the newspaper’s offer was a reasonable and sufficient response to the complainant’s request for a correction of the statement in the article, no further action is required.

30 June 2010