Current media complaints
UPDATE: Nick Fagge, Daily Express PDF Print E-mail

Following our complaint to the Daily Express about Nick Fagge's story "Heading for the UK: 2m desperate Romanians", and a similar action taken with the Press Complaints Commission, ReAct! is pleased to report that the Daily Express has withdrawn the story from its online edition. It has also agreed to print a correction:

 "Our May 16 article “Heading for the UK, 2m desperate Romanians” reported in good faith on a survey by the Romanian Ministry of Youth and Sport.  It has been drawn to our attention that the figures in the article based on those supplied by a news agency may have been misinterpreted.  We are happy to clarify that whilst a large number of Romanians wish to leave their homeland, they number in the thousands rather than 2 million as was reported.  Although there is legitimate concern over both immigration to the UK and the issue of freedom of movement within the EU, 2.4 million is the number of Romanians that have left the country since 1999, with most emigrating to Italy and Spain.  It was also reported that 21% of those who wished to emigrate listed the UK as their preferred destination.  The correct figure is lower at 16%.  

This appeared in the 1 August 2009 edition of the Daily Express, and will also feature on the website of the Press Complaints Commission.

 ReAct! extends its thanks to all those that supported us in this action.
 
Nick Fagge - Daily Express PDF Print E-mail

Article:                                  Heading for the UK:  2m desperate Romanians
Journalist:                            Nick Fagge

Publication:                          Daily Express

Date:                                      19 May 2009

Story Link:                           http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/101338/Heading-for-the-UK-2m-desperate-Romanians-


In his Article 'Heading for the UK:  2m desperate Romanians' (Daily Express,16 May 2009), Nick Fagge makes 2 factually inaccurate claims, and uses this to imply an exaggerated future level of immigration from Romania to the UK.

The story reports on the ‘Youth and their Concerns’ surveyof about 2000 young Romanians.  The findings of that survey were that 1 in 6 of the 18-34 age group would wish to leave Romania, and that 21% of these see the UK as their destination of choice.

 

Factual Error 1

"AT LEAST two million young Romanians intend to leave their poverty-stricken homeland – with Britain as their first destination of choice, a survey revealed last night."

 

Wrong

National Census information reports there are a total of 6million Romanians in the 18-34 age group. If we accept the findings of the survey that 1 in 6 of these would like to leave Romania then that amounts to a total of 1 million 18-34 year olds with that intent.

This is half the number Nick Fagge suggests.

 

Factual Error 2

“Twenty-one per cent name the UK as their preferred destination, meaning up to 500,000 young Romanians want to move here.”

 

Wrong

Having established that there are only 1 million people inthe 18-34 demographic, if 21% of these were to see the UK as their destination of choice that suggests 210,000 might wish to come to the UK.

Were we even to accept Mr Fagge’s misleading assertion that 21% of 2 million young people were to favour the UK as an immigration destination that would produce a figure of 420,000.

None of the figures used in the article have any basis in fact.

 

Factual Error 3 and Gross Distortion

“Heading for the UK:  2m desperate Romanians”

 

Wrong

The survey predicts that up to 1 million young Romanians may wish to leave the country, of which 210,000 see the UK as their preferred destination. This figure is grossly at odds with the headline figure of 2million in the article.  Nor is their any suggestion that these Romanians are ‘desperate’.

 

Conclusion

In light of these discrepancies we must conclude that Mr Fagge’s intention was to deliberately mislead his readers and to do so with malicious intent.

 
 
Steve Doughty - Daily Mail PDF Print E-mail

Daily Mail10 May 2007, Steve Doughty of the Daily Mail misquotes an Office of National Statistics Report to grossly overestimate the number of visitors from Romania and Bulgaria to the UK.

 
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