Why and how to correct

Why correct?

If you have said or written something that wasn’t as accurate as it could have been, you can correct it.

Correcting is a good thing. By correcting, you can help to ensure that people have access to accurate information so they can make informed choices on the issues that matter to them. Correcting may also help to improve public trust in your profession (politicians, government ministers and journalists were ranked in the bottom four in 2024).

  • If you sit in the House of Commons or House of Lords, correcting the record can also help to demonstrate your commitment to the principle of Honesty - that holders of office should be truthful - set out in the code of conduct for MPs and Peers respectively. Being ‘honest’ was the top attribute the public said they look for in a politician, but 71% said they didn’t believe politicians could be trusted to police their own behaviour, according to a 2022 poll.
  • If you are a government minister, the Ministerial Code also requires you to ‘give accurate and truthful information to Parliament, correcting any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity.’
  • If you work for a newspaper, your editor’s code of practice will include a commitment to correct a significant inaccuracy, seen in the codes regulated by Impress and IPSO.
  • If you work for a broadcaster, your channel will be committed to The Broadcasting Code, which requires that news, in whatever form, is reported with due accuracy. 

How to correct a claim that you have made

If you have made a claim that is inaccurate, misleading, or not backed up by the most reliable publicly-available evidence, you can take action to correct your claim.

We ask claimants to take whatever action they can as quickly as possible so that: (i) the claim is no longer accessible - for example by correcting it - and (ii) people who saw/heard the original claim are informed with due prominence.

The best ways to correct your claim vary depending on where you’ve made it. If you want to correct a claim:

In the House of Commons In the House of Lords On Facebook or Instagram On other social media On TV or radio In a newspaper In a leaflet or other independently distributed publication



In the House of Commons

Send a written correction request to Hansard Managing Editors at hansardmes@parliament.uk, or if you would rather correct verbally, raise a Point of Order. Preferably, also send information about your correction to the MP who you were originally responding to, so they are aware, and also use your social media and/or website to inform the public. If you would like to send a written correction request, we have prepared a template for you to use. Once your correction is agreed to by Hansard Managing Editors, it will be published as part of the next available proceedings and also appear on the corrections webpage linked here.

In the House of Lords

If you need to correct because your comments have been inaccurately reported in Hansard, contact Hansard Managing Editors at hansardmes@parliament.uk to inform them. Otherwise, correct your claim as part of a contribution in the House. Preferably, also send information about your correction to the Peer who you were originally responding to, so they are aware, and also use your social media and/or website to inform the public.

On Facebook or Instagram

Edit your post. Preferably, also add a comment to your post, explaining how you’ve edited it and why.

On other social media

If possible, edit your post and - preferably - also add a comment to it explaining how you’ve edited it and why. Otherwise either add a comment to your post, correcting your claim, or delete your post and publish a corrected version, preferably with a comment added that explains why the previous version was deleted.

On TV or radio

Inform the broadcaster of your error, and also use your social media and/or website to inform the public. If you work for the broadcaster, act in accordance with your code (e.g. by editing out the error in the on-demand content, informing the public of the correction in a future broadcast, and/or adding a correction note to the content or corrections page).

In a newspaper

Inform the newspaper of your error, and also use your social media and/or website to inform the public. If you work for the newspaper, act in accordance with your editor’s code of practice (e.g. by correcting the inaccuracy with equal prominence).

In a leaflet or other independently distributed publication

Cease distribution, and include a correction note in the next communication to recipients.