Frenchgate: FM welcomes IPSO verdict on Telegraph

The adjudication has upheld a complaint on behalf of the First Minister and has found that the Telegraph had breached Clause 1 (accuracy) of the Editor’s Code of Practice.

The newspaper has accepted the ruling in a headline on its front page today, with a summary of the adjudication on page 2.

Ms Sturgeon said: “I welcome today’s unequivocal verdict by IPSO on the Daily Telegraph’s story, which is a victory for effective regulation of the press – and for the truth.

“The complaint was lodged on the basis that the Telegraph’s conduct in producing this story fell short of the expected journalistic standards.

“Subsequent events have proven conclusively that the story was entirely untrue, and today’s ruling simply underlines that.”

She added: “The press have a vital job to do in scrutinising the work of government and of the political process in general.

“That is a role which is essential for democracy, and it is scrutiny which I welcome.

“But that does not mean that the press themselves are above and beyond scrutiny and oversight.

“They have a duty to ensure, as far as possible, that the stories they present to readers are fair, balanced and – above all – accurate.

“The Daily Telegraph, in failing to carry out the most elementary of journalistic checks and balances, failed in this case to meet that duty.”