Mr Alan Dignam and the Sunday World

The Press Ombudsman has decided to uphold a complaint by Mr Alan Dignam that an article published in the Sunday World on 16 December 2012 was in breach of Principle 1 (Truth and Accuracy) of the Code of Practice for Newspapers and Magazines.

Mr Dignam complained about a caption underneath a picture of him which read “Locked Up: Alan Dignam”, and a statement in the article which read “... Alan was jailed in a separate incident earlier this year for attacking an off-duty garda”.   Mr Dignam supplied satisfactory evidence to the Office of the Press Ombudsman that, although he had been sentenced to a term of imprisonment in relation to the alleged attack on the off-duty garda, he had not been jailed because he had immediately appealed the court’s decision, and his appeal had been successful.  In these circumstances, reporting that the complainant had been “locked up” and “jailed” were significantly inaccurate, in breach of Principle 1 of the Code.

Mr Dignam also complained about a statement in the article that read “He previously grabbed a pensioner by the neck and threatened to drown her”.  The Press Ombudsman found this statement to be significantly misleading, and therefore also in breach of Principle 1, because   this was actually an allegation which had formed part of evidence given following a District Court case, the findings of which were subsequently reversed by the Circuit Court.

The Press Ombudsman decided that the evidence available to him was insufficient to support a decision that the article concerned was in other respects  in breach of Principles 1 (Truth and Accuracy),  2.2 (Distinguishing Fact and Comment), 3 (Fairness and Honesty) or 4 (Respect for Rights).

10 May 2013