The Times has become the first newspaper to be forced to publish a reference to a correction on its front page by press regulator Ipso.
The regulator found that the Times article from 24 April “Labour’s £1,000 tax on families” had a misleading headline and first sentence: “Ed Miliband would saddle every working family with extra taxes equivalent to more than £1,000.”
The Times admitted the accuracies in its corrections and clarification section on 2 May, but the person who took the complaint to Ipso was not happy with its prominence.
Ipso said that the paper had acted in good faith by publishing the correction before the general election, but ruled it deserved greater prominence.
The Ipso ruling is referred to at the bottom of the front page, with the full correction on page 28.
Ipso chief executive Matt Tee said: “Today’s decision is the first time Ipso has invoked its new rules to compel a national publication to reference a correction on its front page. In assessing the requirement for “due prominence,” the committee took into account both the prominence of the original article and the seriousness of the breach, and ruled that prominence of the correction was not sufficient.”
Research published following the election suggested that newspaper lines on the election were reflected in the voting patterns of their readers. Among Times readers, 55% voted for the Conservatives, compared to 20% who voted Labour.
