Ombudsman upholds complaint against Irish Independent

The Press Ombudsman has upheld a complaint against the Irish Independent for breaching the code of practice for Newspapers and Magazines.

It related to an article on giving full marriage rights to same sex couples by Kevin Myers.

The Ombudsman John Horgan found that the article reported as fact that "the liberalisation of the laws against homosexual acts" had resulted in "at least 250 thousand deaths from AIDS".

The Ombudsman found that the article breached the code of practice on grounds of Prejudice and Distinguishing Fact and Comment.

The Independent said it was clear that the article was an opinion piece.