The Press Ombudsman has decided that he has insufficient information to allow him make a decision in relation to a complaint made by Mr Sean Fitzgerald that an article published in the Sunday World on l7 November 2013 breached Principle 1 (Truth and Accuracy) of the Code of Practice for Newspapers and Magazines.
Mr Fitzgerald complained that a statement in the article that a named criminal was desperate for cash and had contacted him, among other named individuals, “with a begging bowl” was inaccurate.
The newspaper said that the statement was based on information from reputable sources, and said that it was a repetition of information contained in a previous article which it had attributed to Garda sources.
The Press Ombudsman cannot make a decision, in the absence of conclusive evidence, on the accuracy or otherwise of the statement complained about.