1464/2023 - Mr Hermann Kelly and the Sunday World

The Press Ombudsman has not upheld a complaint made by Mr Hermann Kelly that an article published online by the Sunday World on 27 November 2022 breached Principle 1 (Truth and Accuracy) of the Code of Practice of the Press Council of Ireland. 

The article was about a protest against the housing of asylum seekers in Dublin’s East Wall. It noted that speakers included “Hermann Kelly who previously worked for former United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage.”

Mr Kelly demanded an immediate correction and retraction, claiming that: “I never worked for Nigel Farage or UKIP.” The Sunday World said that the article was accurate and required no amendment.  It quoted Mr Kelly’s response when he was asked by a Channel 4 interviewer in 2018 to explain who he was and what his job was.  Mr Kelly told the interviewer that he was from Derry, that he had worked as a teacher, then as a journalist, “and then became Press Officer for Nigel Farage.”  The Sunday World said it had not claimed Mr Kelly worked for UKIP.

The Press Ombudsman finds no basis whatsoever for Mr Kelly’s complaint.  She is satisfied that the Sunday World article relied on research which included Mr Kelly’s own claim that he worked for Nigel Farage.  During the processing of this complaint, Mr Kelly has not denied what he told Channel 4, nor has he said that it was a lie or a mistake on his part. It is factually correct that Nigel Farage was formerly the leader of UKIP.  The article neither claims nor suggests that Mr Kelly worked for that party.  Principle 1 of the Code of Practice has not been breached.

19 January 2023