Smears for fears

Unite is taking action after the notorious tabloid, The Sun, published a two-page spread on Wednesday (November 5), falsely alleging that Unite wields undue influence on the Labour Party, in a cynical bid to undermine the party’s leadership as the election draws near.

Unite has referred the Sun and its chief political correspondent Kevin Schofield to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) for printing wildly inaccurate statements about general secretary Len McCluskey and the union, as well as refusing the union a right of reply, as is required in clause 1 of the editor’s code of practice.

Unite has found at least 10 factual inaccuracies or misleading statements in the story. At no point did the Sun contact Unite prior to publication to confirm the serious allegations made against the union, which violates the editor’s code’s dictum to “take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information, including pictures.”

The story, Unite and take over,  promised to expose the “full extent of Unite’s takeover of the Labour Party” and then went on to assert that “nearly one third of the party’s candidates lined up for next year’s election are backed by the union,” as a result of Labour leader Ed Miliband’s supposedly deferential relationship with Unite.

The story’s allegations were further propagated on The Sun’s social media accounts and in a separate editorial.

McCluskey argued that the story was a “single-minded effort to undermine the elected leader of the Labour Party…as the general election draws closer.”

In a letter to the press regulator, McCluskey noted, “We officially support all 337 Labour Party nominees who so far have been selected for the 2015 election. There are no Unite candidates opposed to Labour party candidates.

“There are only Labour party candidates and Unite supports them all,” he added.

The story made mention of the selection process in last year’s Falkirk vote, referring to the incident as “vote-rigging,” despite Unite already having been unreservedly cleared of any wrongdoing following an internal Labour Party and police investigation.

When Unite requested a right of reply the morning of publication, The Sun claimed the story was not about the union but instead was about the Labour Party, and so argued that a cursory quote from a Labour party official at the very end of the article was sufficient.

How could that be? The story mentioned Unite no less than 28 times, including in the conspicuously titled headline Unite and take over.

Press regulations as set out by the IPSO are in place to protect the public from misinformation that seeks to manipulate readers.

McCluskey argued the Sun’s disregard for the truth puts the public in danger, many of whom trust the media to be accurate.

“As the general election draws closer, we know it will not be a fair fight, such is the wealth amassed by one party and with the vast majority of the popular media in the pocket of the Conservative Party,” he said.

“Against this backdrop, The Sun’s utter lack of respect for the regulator, and of the rules of accuracy and balance in our media, has serious, dangerous consequences for our democracy,” he added.

The dangers of The Sun’s false attacks are already coming to fruition, as its story has had a ripple effect in the rest of the media, which has falsely reported a so-called “leadership crisis” within the Labour Party.

The Sun’s violation of press regulations may come as no surprise – in the Press Complaints Commission’s online cases database, the Sun has had 137 complaints brought against it for refusing right of reply, and an additional 468 cases alleging inaccuracy.