Gantley and the Sunday World

The Press Ombudsman has decided to uphold a complaint made by Mr James Gantley that a statement published in an article in the Sunday World breached Principle 2 (Distinguishing Fact and Comment) of the Code of Practice for Newspapers and Periodicals. However, on the basis of the information available, there is insufficient evidence available to him to make a finding on Mr Gantley’s complaint that the statement was untrue in breach of Principle 1 (Truth and Accuracy).

The statement in question said that Mr Gantley was one of seven major criminals summoned to a meeting in1994 in connection with the selling of drugs. In response to the complaint, the newspaper maintained that the statement about the complainant reported in the article did not breach the Code of Practice as it was based on Garda sources at the time. No such attribution, however, was made or implied in the article itself and the statement was therefore a comment, conjecture, rumour or unconfirmed report reported as fact, and therefore a breach of Principle 2 of the Code of Practice.

18 August 2010

Mr Gantley appealed the decision of the Press Ombudsman to the Press Council of Ireland.