The Sun corrects story on the EU and human rights

This week The Sun issued a correction to a story it had run back in February, when it claimed that the European Union had make it easier for paedophiles to prey on children:

"Huntley abused me when I was 11 and went on to kill - Now EU could let fiends like him prey on your children..."

As we noted at the time, the EU had nothing to do with a judgement issued by the UK's Court of Appeal, which stated that blanket criminal records checks were not compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). 

However, The Sun made the (not uncommon) mistake of confusing the EU with the ECHR. The EU has no responsibilty for the ECHR, which is upheld separately by domestic courts and the European Court of Human Rights. UK judges - in this case, the second most senior judge in England and Wales - are responsible for interpreting the ECHR. The EU has no role in this process. However, in its article The Sun had implied that the EU is somehow related to our Court of Appeal, which is based in London's Royal Courts of Justice.

We were concerned that The Sun's readers might have concluded the EU was responsible for the ruling. Meanwhile the European Commission was so unimpressed by The Sun's coverage that it lodged a complaint with the Press Complaints Commission. The PCC has now ordered The Sun to make a correction.

Here it is, as it appears on the online version of the article:

The Sun's correction might encourage those who hope for a more informed debate on the EU. But with a referendum on the UK's EU membership in the offing, the public deserves better than this.