NE BNP: Kevin Scott blows whistle on Sunday Sun
In an unprecedented change of heart, Kevin Scott has complained to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) about language used to describe a convicted criminal in a recent Sunday Sun article. The subject of the article was, in fact, Scott himself, described by the Sun as “…ex-con North spokesman for a far-right extremist political party…”
Scott, described by the Sun as “…touchy far-right extremist - regional organiser of the British National Party…” stated in his complaint that he was not a “con”. Though he had a criminal record, he had never served a prison sentence, so had never been a con-vict.
Scott at first threatened to sue the Sunday Sun, claiming damage to his reputation. For whatever reason, the complaint eventually landed on the doorstep of the PCC.
The PCC, however, came down on the side of a robust approach to the use of language. They said that since Scott did not deny past criminal convictions, the term “ex-con” was accurate when used to describe him as a person who had been convicted of an offense.