Complaint
A listener complained about the accuracy of a report on the salary of the Chief Executive of Centrica. The ECU considered whether the programme met the relevant standards set out in the Editorial Guidelines.
Outcome
The complainant argued it was inaccurate and misleading to state that the Chief Executive considered himself incredibly fortunate 鈥渢o take home a pay package worth 拢4.5 million last year鈥 because it did not take account of deductions such as income tax. However the second sentence of the report made it clear Mr O鈥橲hea was paid 鈥溌4.5 million last year before tax鈥 and so the ECU saw no basis for concluding listeners would have been misled. In addition the ECU considered the comparison made between Mr O鈥橲hea鈥檚 remuneration and the 鈥渁verage UK worker鈥 to be a fair one, notwithstanding that other comparisons were possible.
Not Upheld