Who can complain?

Anyone who is the subject of an article or has been affected by a journalist’s behaviour

Anyone who is the subject of an article or who has been affected by a journalist’s behaviour can make a complaint. You can ask someone to complain to us on your behalf, but we will need your permission for them to do so.

Anyone, in cases relating to accuracy

Any member of the public or any organisation can make a complaint under Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Code, if they are looking to correct a significant inaccuracy. However, before we can take your complaint forward, we must consider whether our investigation might affect someone else, or if we would need to involve other people to carry out an investigation properly. If so, we will write to you to let you know that we can’t take your complaint forward, and explain why.

Representative groups on behalf of others

Sometimes, a representative group can complain on behalf of individuals. To complain as a representative group we will ask you to explain which group you believe has been affected by the alleged breach of the Editors' Code, how you are representative of that group, how you believe the alleged breach is significant and how you believe the public interest would be served by considering the complaint. Our Complaints Committee will then decide whether to take forward your complaint.