Press watchdog rules in favour of Telegraph over Scottish Union flag report
A DAILY TELEGRAPH report that the Union flag will no longer be flown at dozens of public buildings following a change in Scottish Government guidance was accurate, the press regulator judged yesterday, despite Nicola Sturgeon dismissing it as “fake news”.
The Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) rejected a complaint from the Scottish Government about the report, which disclosed that under updated guidance, the flag should only be flown once in 2018, compared with 15 times last year.
We reported that a series of public bodies had brought their practice into line with the Scottish Government’s headquarters at St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh, where the Union flag flies only on Remembrance Sunday.
The First Minister described the coverage in this and other newspapers in January as “the media at its worst”.
However, Ipso ruled that it “was not inaccurate” to state that the Union flag would fly from dozens of public buildings on fewer days. The 2017 guidance stated that both the Union flag and the Saltire should be displayed on royal anniversaries. But the updated document states that only the Saltire should be flown, with the sole exception of the Lion Rampant at St Andrew’s House or another building where Ms Sturgeon is present.
The judgment stated that the Telegraph had contacted Historic Environment Scotland (HES), which oversees 33 of Scotland’s historic buildings, “which confirmed that it does follow these rules, and considers itself bound by them”.
It was accepted that the number of days the Union flag flew from the two main government buildings would not be reduced, but the judgment said “it was not in dispute” that other organisations would follow the guidance.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We are disappointed at this ruling and remain firmly of the view that the reporting of this story by The Daily Telegraph and a number of other publications was inaccurate and we welcome the clarifications provided by both the Daily Mail and The Sun.”