Clarification in local paper which linked Travellers to murder

A resolved complaint from the PCC, where the Leatherhead Advertiser misleadingly blamed 'Travellers' for a murder:

Complaint: Mr John Dwyer of Great Bookham complained that the headline “‘Travellers linked to Demko murder case’” and first paragraph of the article had misleadingly claimed that “travellers” were directly involved in Matthew Demko’s death when this was not the case.

Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper published a clarification and apology headlined “Travellers – an apology” in a suitably prominent position. The wording was as follows:

In an article headlined "Travellers linked to Demko murder case" (29 January 2009), we stated that members of the travelling community may have been involved in the murder of Matthew Demko. The defence for Michael Jordan - the accused party who has now been acquitted of the crime - did state in court that a police officer involved in the investigation had claimed that members of the travelling community had been in the area. We wish to make clear that while the case is still unsolved, using the word traveller in the headline was too strong for the article. We are happy to clarify this position and apologise for any offence caused.