Correction of untrue press releases

Lothian and Borders Police did not have the information requested.

Dear Lothian & Borders Police,

There is a lot of background below, before I get to my enquiry, but all the background is relevant to this enquiry.

On 23/8/10 Lothian and Borders Police issued two press releases which defamed protestors at climate camp. The two defamatory press releases are http://www.lbp.police.uk/press_release/a... and http://www.lbp.police.uk/press_release/a... both of which contain the following accusations about the protestors:

"A police spokesman said: 'This is an extremely reckless and dangerous act which could put many members of the public at risk.

"'It is a worrying trend and disturbing escalation in the activities of the protestors."

I have made extensive enquiries regarding these accusations http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/oi... http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/oi... http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/cl... http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/me... and http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ve...

My enquiries are continuing on some matters http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/cl... http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/cl... and http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/em... but the answers already provided are enough to make deductions.

Amongst the results of my enquiries the two claimed "oil spills" have morphed into one, following my enquiries to the City of Edinburgh Council.

Despite my numerous enquiries not one shred of evidence has been produced to support the asseretion that these "oil spill(s)", if there were any, were to do with "the activities of the protestors."

If, for the sake of argument, one assumes the "oil spill(s)" existed there would seem to be four possibilities, 1) the spill(s) were accidentally caused by protestors, 2) the spill(s) were deliberately caused by protestors, the spill(s) were accidentally caused by non-protestors, 4) the spill(s) were deliberately caused by non-protestors (a false-flag operation).

By now if there was a shred of evidence to support option 2) Lothian and Borders Police would have produced it. They have not done so and it is as clear as day that the press releases were untrue with regard to the "oil spill(s)".

Readers should be clear that I have not made a determination on whether the press releases contain lies (deliberate untruths) or just untruths (the result of honest mistakes).

The above is the factual background, necessary for my enquiry but not forming part of it. No discussion of the above facts is necessary.

Now to my FoI enquiries.

Please provide a copy of the procedure for correctiong untrue press releases. Unless Lothian and Borders Police does not believe that it ever issues untrue press releases it must have a policy for the correction and/or withdrawal of untrue press releases. I have checked today and there is nothing to correct the defamatory and untruthful press releases on http://www.lbp.police.uk

Please also provide the number of untrue press releases which have been withdrawn/corrected in line with this policy since 2005, broken down by year, ideally with a link to the original press release and the correction.

Please note that "replies" which involve attachments in proprietary file formats are not acceptable. A reply which is not in plain text format will be deemed to be a refusal to answer. It may be that a copy of the procedure cannot be provided in text form. In that case please contact me to arrange a suitable format.

Yours faithfully,

David Hansen

Lothian and Borders Police

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Lothian and Borders Police

Dear Mr Hanson,

Thank you for your email which has been dealt with under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Unfortunately the information you have requested falls within section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002: Information not held. Lothian and Borders Police does not have a formal written policy regarding the issue and correction of inaccurate press releases. Our Media Office makes every effort to check all information before a press release is issued but, naturally, can only work with the information that is available at the time. If an error or inaccuracy is identified, the practice is to immediately correct it by a follow-up press release which is clearly marked as a correction and carries an apology. In addition, the Force website is updated and efforts are made to directly inform journalists of the updated information.

In terms of statistics, I am afraid that we do not keep a record of the number of occasions that it has been necessary to correct a press release but, anecdotally, these occasions are very rare. If you would like to view our historical press releases, they are published on our website at: www.lbp.police.uk/press_release/index.asp.

I hope this is of some assistance to you; if you have any questions about the above or I can help in any other way, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me again. However, under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, you have the right to appeal if you are dissatisfied with the way in which we have dealt with your enquiry. This should be done within 40 working days of receiving this email. If you wish to appeal please contact Rachel Watson, Head of Force Information Unit, Lothian and Borders Police, Police Headquarters, Fettes Avenue, Edinburgh, EH4 1RB. Please note that subsequent to this internal review there is a right of appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS.

Kind regards,
Sarah Hughes-Jones
Force Information Unit
Lothian and Borders Police

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Dear Lothian & Borders Police,

"If an error or inaccuracy is identified, the practice is to immediately correct it by a follow-up press release which is clearly marked as a correction and carries an apology. In addition, the Force website is updated and efforts are made to directly inform journalists of the updated information."

Yet that has not been done in this case.

Yours faithfully,

David Hansen

Lothian and Borders Police

Dear Mr Hanson,

An assessment of whether or not the information within the press release was inaccurate can only be made when the outcome of the current enquiry is known.

Kind regards,
Sarah Hughes-Jones
Force Information Unit
Lothian and Borders Police

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Dear Lothian & Borders Police,

And the "current enquiry" can be continued almost indefinitely in order to avoid assessing the veracity of the press release.

A common police tactic to cover up their untruths. In the case of child abuse by the police, social services and a "child protection" charity in Orkney the police escaped the criticism they were due by claiming that their enquiries were still ongoing until after the report.

Yours faithfully,

David Hansen