News In Focus
19 October 2010
Dailly complains to PCC over Record's "Homer Simpson" story
A formal complaint has been made to the Press Complaints Commission over yesterday's article in the Daily Record concerning the Law Society of Scotland's Access to Justice Committee.
Mike Dailly, convener of the committee, has taken the newspaper to task over its story headlined "It's like putting Homer Simpson in charge of a doughnut factory", in which Paul McBride QC, a member of the Scottish Legal Aid Board, attacked the committee's proposal to break up the Board and move its functions elsewhere as a cost saving measure.
Yesterday the Journal Online reported (click here to view) that Mr Dailly had called on the Record to correct its story or face a complaint to the PCC. The complaint has now been lodged, alleging breach of paragraphs 1 (accuracy) and 2 (opportunity to reply) of the Editor's Code.
Mr Dailly's main complaint is that contrary to what was stated in the article, and a supporting editorial, "the Access to Justice Committee has never suggested that solicitors be 'in charge of their own legal aid payments', nor that they should 'manage' the proposed new one-stop body, nor that they should ‘administer money to themselves’. Instead, we pointed to the obvious scope for making savings in terms of administration and overhead costs, with a view to ensuring vulnerable members of the Scottish public did not lose out in front-line services with the forthcoming expected severe public sector cuts".
He adds that had the paper contacted him before printing the articles, he could have advised that Mr McBride "was misrepresenting our committee’s position and providing a false factual basis for his attack"; and also provided evidence of the Board's administration costs.
In addition to Mr McBride's connection with the Scottish Legal Aid Board, it is also pointed out that he provides regular legal advice to the Daily Record in checking the paper for potential defamatory content, and has a potential conflict of interest as adviser to the Conservative Party on legal affairs, given that the Conservative Party is in Government and implementing cuts to public funding.
The Record has not as yet commented on the complaint.