View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Publishers
  2. National Newspapers
January 5, 2017updated 19 Jan 2017 12:41pm

IPSO: Express online claim UK would build trading zone ‘ten times bigger than EU’ post Brexit was inaccurate

By Freddy Mayhew

An Express.co.uk headline claiming the UK would “build a trading zone ten times bigger than the EU” following the Brexit vote has been ruled inaccurate by press regulator IPSO.

The headline related to an exclusive story reporting Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox’s (pictured) claim that the UK had ten trade deals lined up with “economic powerhouses” around the world.

The headline appeared online on 17 July, 2016, less than a month after the referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union.

It read in full: “UK will build trading zone ten times bigger than EU with mega-deals with 12 major nations”.

Clare Race complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) that the headline breached the accuracy clause in the Editor’s Code of Practice.

“The complainant said that the online headline inaccurately suggested that the UK would enjoy 10 times the level of trade it currently enjoys with the EU,” said IPSO.

“She said that the EU’s level of economic output represented a significant portion of the world’s total economic output, and that it was therefore impossible for the UK to find ten times this level of trade with the countries referred to in the article.”

Content from our partners
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it
Impress: Regulation, arbitration and complaints resolution

The newspaper said that according to Fox, the UK had ten trade deals lined up with other countries, including India, China, Japan, Australia, Canada, America, Singapore, Malaysia and Brazil.

It said that the combined population of these countries was 3.391 billion people, and that the population of the EU – excluding the UK – was 444 million.

But it agreed the online headline was inaccurate and amended it to read: “UK has 10 trade deals lined up with economic powerhouses”. It also published a correction at the foot of the article.

IPSO’s complaints committee ruled the headline had been inaccurate and upheld the complaint under clause one of the Editor’s Code of Practice.

The committee said the article did not make clear the basis on which the online headline claim, that the UK would build a trading zone that is “ten times bigger” than the EU, could be made.

According to IPSO, the newspaper accepted that the total population of the countries it had listed amounted to approximately 7.6 – rather than ten – times the population of the EU.

The committee said the initial claim was unsupported by the text of the article and the newspaper had not been able to provide a convincing explanation.

It added: “The newspaper had promptly amended the online headline to remove the inaccuracy, and published a correction beneath the article documenting the change, and making the correct position clear. It appeared in a sufficiently prominent location.”

Picture: Reuters

*This article originally said the complaint was made against the Sunday Express, following an error on IPSO’s part.

Topics in this article : , ,

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network