‘Telegraph’ criticised by watchdog over Sturgeon article

Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon was the victim of "a significantly misleading" Daily Telegraph story during the election campaign which claimed she secretly wanted the Conservatives to win, the United Kingdom's press regulator has ruled.

In a report a month before the election, the Telegraph reported the French consul general in Edinburgh had told a British official Ms Sturgeon had told the French ambassador, Sylvia Berman, she hoped David Cameron would win.

Ms Sturgeon immediately denied the Daily Telegraph's report, which was based on a leak from an official then working with the then Scottish secretary, Liberal Democrats MPAlistair Carmichael.

Accuracy doubted

The memorandum drafted by the British official which was seen by the

Telegraph

did contain the claims included in its April 4th report, though the

Independent Press Standards Organisation

said the official had doubted their accuracy. “The account was contentious, so much so that the author of the memorandum had recorded concern that the account was mistaken, stating ‘I have to admit that I’m not sure that the first minister’s tongue would be quite so loose on that kind of thing in a meeting like that’,” said the body.

The Telegraph defended its decision not to get a reaction before publication from the first minister, arguing it had confirmed the authenticity of the document written a week after the Sturgeon/Berman meeting with two well-placed sources before publication. "It was a contemporaneous note made by an experienced civil servant, and the newspaper had no reason to doubt its accuracy," the IPSO recorded, "It denied having any obligation to contact Ms Sturgeon for comment . . ."

Sturgeon’s comments

However, the IPSO rejected this defence: “The memorandum represented – at best – a second-hand account given a week after the meeting, which contained the serious implication that Ms Sturgeon had been disingenuous in her public statements. The newspaper did not know whether the account . . . was accurate. Nonetheless, it had published this as fact . . .”

Welcoming the regulator's "unequivocal verdict", the first minister said it was "a victory for effective regulation of the press – and for the truth", and showed the Telegraph's conduct "fell short of the expected journalistic standards".