IPSO FACTO

Last weekend, as a result of an upheld IPSO complaint by These Islands, the Herald on Sunday finally published a correction^{1https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/23944747.energy-bills-article---correction/}    to a story that was splashed across its front page back in March. The headline to that story read:

Scots now set to pay £1,000 more than the rest of UK for energy bills

There was (and still is) no truth to this. By looking at published tariffs and average household consumption data (both of which are easy to find) it should have been immediately obvious that the central claim of the story was false.

The Herald on Sunday made a number of errors in its analysis, but one mistake was by far the most significant: it compared an average household bill for Scotland based on mean consumption with an average household bill for the rest of the UK based on median consumption.

Mean household energy consumption is higher than median, and this is true across all nations and regions of the UK. The Herald on Sunday made a simple apples to oranges mistake.

Unit charges are actually lower in Scotland than the average in the rest of the UK, for both gas and electricity. Standing charges for electricity are higher than average in Scotland, but because unit charges are lower, bills for average consumption in Scotland are very similar to bills in the rest of the UK, whether you use median or mean for average household energy consumption.

But obviously you cannot compare a mean consumption bill in one place to a median consumption bill in another, which is what the Herald on Sunday did.

So why did it take 9 months for a rather grudging correction to be published?

IPSO has now published the full narrative of its decision. And below is the timeline of how this saga unfolded.

Sunday 5th March 2023

Scots now set to pay £1,000 more than the rest of UK for energy bills

The Herald on Sunday splashes the above headline across most of its front page. Numerous SNP politicians and independence activists share the front page on social media. These Islands points out (via Twitter) that the headline is false.

Monday 6th March 2023

These Islands writes to the Editor and the Head of Print at the Herald, asking how the headline and story can be justified when published tariffs clearly show the central claim to be false. The Head of Print responds:

The headline is justifiable because Scots are now set to pay £1,000 more than the rest of the UK – just not all of them – around 400,000 homes which is explained within the copy as you acknowledge yourself.

Tuesday 7th March 2023

These Islands responds to the Head of Print:

The copy of the article is also full of incorrect and/or misleading statements. You have clearly been misled by it yourself.

Unusually high bills are principally associated with households depending on oil for heating.

The article states that there are 129,000 of these households in Scotland - that’s about 5% of Scottish households.

What the article doesn’t mention is that we know from the 2021 census that 1.25 million households in the rest of the UK depend on oil for heating, which is about 5% of households in rUK.

So… a small number of households in Scotland face unusually high bills, but the same is true in the rest of the UK. The headline and entire framing of the article are both deeply misleading.

The headline would have been much more honest if it had read: “A small number of Scots will pay more than most other Scots for energy bills. Situation very similar in the rest of UK.”

But I don’t think you’d have splashed that across the front page?

And the article isn't just misleading because of errors of omission. In the third paragraph of the article, it is stated that:

“A £2,500 price guarantee will mean the typical Scots household will still be forking out close to £3,500 a year in energy bills”

But no evidence is cited to substantiate this claim. Where is the evidence to support it?

The Head of Print never responds to this email.

Thursday 9th March 2023

These Islands sends a draft version of its debunking of the disputed story to the Editor and the Head of Print at the Herald. Neither of them ever respond.
 

Wednesday 15th March 2023

Stephen Flynn cites the disputed Herald on Sunday headline in a question to Rishi Sunak at PMQs. These Islands writes to the Editor, pointing this out, and asking her to call. She does not respond.

Thursday 16th March 2023

These Islands publishes its debunking^{2https://www.these-islands.co.uk/publications/i385/energy_bills_scotland_does_not_pay_more_than_rest_of_uk.aspx} of the disputed story.

Wednesday 22nd March 2023

These Islands sends the Editor of the Herald a Channel 4 FactCheck article, published in response to Stephen Flynn’s remark at PMQs. It finds no evidence to support Stephen Flynn’s claim (which was identical to the Herald on Sunday headline). These Islands asks again if the Editor will call us to discuss the disputed story. The Editor agrees to call on Friday afternoon.

Friday 24th March 2023

The Editor of the Herald does not call.

28th March - 14th April 2023

Multiple emails, messages, and phone calls to the Herald go unanswered, until Friday 14th April, when the Editor responds to say she thought the Head of Print was dealing with it. These Islands points out that the Head of Print is not dealing with it. The Editor agrees to speak with us on Monday.

Monday 17th April 2023

We speak to the Editor. She apologises for the delay in responding and we have a perfectly friendly conversation about the inaccuracies in the disputed story. She offers to publish a response from These Islands, but we point out that "These Islands disagrees with our story..." is not enough: the Herald needs to acknowledge that the story was false, and publish its own correction. The Editor says she will speak with the journalist who wrote the story and other editors, and get back to us.

Tuesday 18th April 2023

The Editor writes to These Islands:

Thanks for your call yesterday and apologies again for the time it took for our conversation to happen.

Today, I have spoken with the staff involved with The Herald on Sunday story in question. I am confident the figures/sources we used were reliable to show the average energy costs facing Scots. I will therefore not be issuing any clarification/correction.

As discussed, my offer of a piece from These Islands stands. If you would like to submit, please let me know.

These Islands responds:

This is surprising, to say the least.

I’ve been asking for the last 6 weeks to see the analysis which substantiates the central claim of the story: that a £2,500 UK Government price guarantee will mean an average household in Scotland paying around £3,500 a year in energy bills.

When we spoke yesterday, you said that you hadn’t seen the analysis. Presumably you have now seen it? Can you share it with me?

The Editor never responds to this email.

Monday 24th April 2023

These Islands messages the Editor asking again to see the analysis. She responds:

I have nothing further to add to my email to you on April 18. Thank you.

Tuesday 2nd May 2023

These Islands submits a complaint to the Independent Press Standards Organisation alleging that the disputed headline and story breached IPSO Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors’ Code of Practice.

Monday 22nd May 2023

These Islands receives, via IPSO, the Herald’s response to our complaint. The Head of Print writes:

In relation to your complaint, you allege that the story is inaccurate, but do not offer any clear guidance as to why it is inaccurate, so it is very difficult for us to offer a firm rebuttal or acceptance to the complaint.

It’s an extremely odd response, given These Islands had published a detailed debunking of the headline and central claim of the story. At this stage the Herald still hasn’t shared the analysis which it believes substantiates the central claim of the story.

Saturday 3rd June 2023

These Islands responds to the Head of Print, pointing out that we have explained in detail why the headline and story are false, and asking once again to see the analysis behind the story.

Monday 3rd July 2023

The Herald finally shares the analysis which it believes justifies the story (4 months after These Islands first asked to see it). A number of elementary errors are immediately obvious.

Monday 10th July 2023

These Islands sends IPSO a comprehensive explanation of all the errors in the analysis, which IPSO shares with the Herald.

Thursday 20th July 2023

The Herald sends a response to IPSO, making a number of false allegations about These Islands’ work. An excerpt:

“... he completely misinterpreted it to back up his own argument, and is the key reason why we believe his complaint to be spurious as it is based on trying to prove a political point, rather than it being inaccurate.”

Friday 21st July 2023

These Islands sends a final response to IPSO. An excerpt:

I work for a think tank which opposes Scottish independence. That is why I took a particular interest in the inaccuracy. But an inaccuracy is an inaccuracy. The politics was inserted into this story by the Herald.

Energy tariffs are basically the same across the UK. So is average household consumption. And therefore so are average bills. The truth is really boring.

But if you inaccurately state that average household energy bills in Scotland are £1,000 higher than average household energy bills in the rest of the UK, then you have created a story which is political dynamite.

A story justifying a front page splash. A story that will be shared far and wide across social media. A story that will be picked up by the Westminster leader of the SNP at Prime Minister’s Questions.

Tuesday 25th July 2023

Because the complaint remains unresolved, it is referred to the IPSO Complaints Committee for a decision.

Thursday 7th September 2023

The IPSO Complaints Committee makes its decision and upholds These Islands’ complaint, finding the Herald on Sunday in breach of IPSO Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors’ Code of Practice.

Thursday 21st September 2023

The Herald exercises its right to appeal the IPSO Complaints Committee’s decision, explaining its reasoning as follows:

I am writing to confirm that we would like a review of the above case as we believe the process was flawed.

This relates to a lengthy submission from the complainant that we were informed would not be material in the case.

This came after we informed the complaints committee that the reporter was off on annual leave for a fortnight so we could not issue a rebuttal until he got back.

Despite the assurance, the complainant’s submission was cited in the reasons for upholding the complaint.

We believe that if we had the chance to challenge the submission in full, the outcome may have been different and hence, why we are seeking a review.

The Herald never produces the rebuttal it claims the reporter could have delivered if he wasn’t on holiday.

Tuesday 24th October 2023

IPSO informs These Islands that the Complaints Committee has rejected the Herald’s appeal.

Sunday 5th November 2023

The Herald on Sunday publishes a correction, but fails to comply with important elements of the IPSO ruling. The correction appears on an inside page of the print edition, without a reference on the front page. And no stand alone correction is published online. Both of which are requirements of the IPSO ruling.

Tuesday 21st November 2023

These Islands is informed that the Herald has been referred to the Standards department of IPSO due to its inadequate correction and the delay in fully complying with the IPSO ruling.

Sunday 26th November 2023

The Herald on Sunday republishes the correction, and this time does include the required reference on the front page. A stand alone correction is also published online, but a link to this correction appears on the homepage for only around 4 hours. The IPSO ruling required the link to remain on the Herald’s homepage for 24 hours.

Sunday 3rd December 2023

As of the date of this piece, none of the numerous SNP politicians and independence activists who amplified the original story has shared the correction.