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Claim of audience plants on Nolan show inaccurate, says watchdog

Robbie MeredithEducation and arts correspondent, BBC News NI
News imageBBC A man looks into the camera, he has short, cropped brown hair and is wearing a blue jacket and white t-shirt. He appears to be standing in a multi-storey or underground car park. BBC
The Irish News had published a number of allegations about BBC presenter Stephen Nolan in August 2023

A claim that BBC staff were placed in the audience on the Nolan Live TV show was inaccurate, according to a ruling by the independent news regulator.

The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) is the regulator for the UK's newspaper and magazine industry.

The BBC had complained to IPSO that The Irish News had: "Inaccurately reported that members of BBC staff had been "planted" or "placed" in the audience, and had "posed" as audience members."

The regulator has upheld the BBC's complaint.

IPSO required the Irish News to publish their decision, which appeared in the paper on Wednesday.

The Irish News had published a number of allegations about the BBC presenter Stephen Nolan in August 2023.

The IPSO judgement, refers to an article published by the Irish News on 19 August, stating the article reported that staff had been "placed" in the audience – including the editor's statement which said: "The Irish News has firm evidence setting out the circumstances in which junior members of staff were placed in the audience of Nolan Live."

"In this Committee's view, this reiterated the inaccuracies."