{"id":8055,"date":"2018-04-22T22:28:51","date_gmt":"2018-04-22T21:28:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=8055"},"modified":"2018-04-25T22:31:50","modified_gmt":"2018-04-25T21:31:50","slug":"a-statement-on-ipsos-decision-to-uphold-a-complaint-against-the-times-fostering-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/a-statement-on-ipsos-decision-to-uphold-a-complaint-against-the-times-fostering-story\/","title":{"rendered":"A statement on IPSO\u2019s decision to uphold a complaint against the Times fostering story"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Independent Press Standards Organisation has today published its decision to uphold a complaint by Tower Hamlets Council against The Times\u2019 coverage of a foster case last summer.
\nThe decision by IPSO can be found here<\/a>.
\nWill Tuckley, Chief Executive of Tower Hamlets Council, said:
\n\u201cWe are pleased that IPSO has upheld our complaint that the Times article was misleading and broke the Editor\u2019s Code on the ground of accuracy.
\n\u201cWe felt it was important to make the complaint to defend our foster carers and protect children in foster care, along with standing up for our diverse communities.
\n\u201cWe always said that, although cultural and religious matches are very important in foster care cases, there are other important factors to consider, such as the child being close to their school and blood relatives.
\n\u201cUltimately we have to make the best decision taking into account the foster carers that are available in an emergency situation. What matters most is that we place the child in a loving and supportive home.
\n\u201cFrom the start we had significant concerns about the validity of the allegations about the foster carers. For example one allegation was that they did not speak English, even though that is a prerequisite for any foster carers.
\n\u201cAn investigation into all the allegations in The Times article later found them to be unsubstantiated. (This is published here and reported to the Family Court.)
\n\u201cThe independent court appointed guardian also found the child to be \u2018settled and well cared for\u2019 by the foster carers. (The court order containing this and other important case details can be found here<\/a>.)
\n\u201cThe impression given in article that there was a finding against the council\u2019s assessment of the child\u2019s needs in organising the placement was found by IPSO to be distorted information. Indeed we were impressed by the care and commitment of the foster carers.\u201d
\n\u201cThe difficulty in reporting foster cases is that local authorities are bound by legal restrictions. That means we cannot give the other side of the story.
\n“It is worth noting that had the Judge not made the unusual decision of publishing the Family Court Order because of the media coverage, we simply would not have been able to make a complaint at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

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