The English Democrats' Chairman, Robin Tilrbook, successfully complained to the press complaints commission over the language used to describe the party in the Sunday Times - the complaint was upheld.

Complainant Namr:
Mr Robin Tillbrook, Chairman of the English Democrats Party

Clauses Noted: 1

Publication: The Sunday Times

Complaint:

Mr Robin Tilbrook, Chairman of the English Democrats Party, complained to the Press Complaints Commission that the newspaper had breached the terms of Clauses 1 (Accuracy), 2 (Opportunity to reply), and 12 (Discrimination) of the Editors' Code of Practice. The complainant said that the article incorrectly described the English Democrats as "extremist right-wing". There was no evidence that the party was "extremist" or that its politics could be described as "far right".

Resolution:

The complaint was resolved when the PCC negotiated the publication of the following statement in the newspaper:

"A story on the election of police and crime commissioners (Party plodders turn police vote into a flop, November 11, 2012) wrongly referred to the English Democrats as an 'extremist' party. The English Democrats are a nationalist party campaigning, among other things, for an English parliament."

It appended the following statement to the online article:

"An earlier version of this article wrongly referred to the English Democrats as an 'extremist' party. It is a nationalist party."

Date Published: 31/01/2013