Misleading claims about benefits claimants corrected

Full Fact complained to the Press Complaints Commission about articles in the Mail, Telegraph and Sun about incapacity benefit claimant numbers.

Full Fact report that although all three have agreed to run corrections:

we again found that the papers’ reluctance to acknowledge the error made the correction process longer and harder than it needed to be

Here's the Mail's correction:

In common with other newspapers, an article on 11 February reported official Department of Work and Pensions figures which suggested that 68 per cent of incapacity claimants were receiving benefits despite being fit for work.

While 29 per cent were found fit for work straight away, the other 39 per cent were assessed as being unable to work now but able to work in the foreseeable future.

We are happy to clarify the position.

'Happy to clarify the position' yet they've taken three months to do it...

Moreover, not only did the Mail fail to link to this correction on their lengthy home page, they have buried it in the US section of their website:


(Hat-tip to Jim Hawkins and the person who left an anonymous comment)