Protesters who accused a Scottish weekly newspaper of xenophobia and racism staged a rally outside its offices.
About 30 people gathered outside the Ayrshire Post to complain about last week’s front page story, headlined “Beggar off”, which claimed “roving eastern European gangs” and “lone-wolf Scottish scroungers” were earning up to £200 a day by begging on the streets of Ayr.
The demonstrators objected to the descriptions used in the story and, following the protest, the terms were removed in an an amended version of the story published online. A petition signed by 600 people called on the paper to apologise for “targeting the vulnerable poor and homeless”.
Complaints were also aired on social media. A message on Facebook page said the article had used “xenophobic, racist and inciteful language.”
Neill Clark, who helped organise the rally, told HoldTheFrontPage that the article “came across as quite xenophobic in parts” and seemed to be blaming homeless people for their homelessness.
In response, the editor, Cheryl McEvoy, asked the protest group to write a letter. She received two and has published both in this week’s issue. She also ran a picture of the demonstration.
A person familiar with the situation at the Post told me there had been no challenge to the story’s factual accuracy, but there had been a realisation that the terms used in the print version were ill-chosen and inappropriate. Hence the deletions online.
The Post’s publisher, Trinity Mirror, declined to comment on the issue.
Hat tip: HoldTheFrontPage
