Complaint
The programme dealt with the case of Eleanor Williams, who had been sentenced to imprisonment after making false allegations of rape and trafficking by Asian men.聽 A viewer complained that the timing of the broadcast, close to the publication of an independent report into the police handling of widespread child sexual exploitation in Rochdale, represented a deliberate decision 鈥渢o balance, refute, malign and downplay genuine victims of mainly Pakistani British men鈥.聽 The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the 麻豆社鈥檚 editorial standards of impartiality.
Outcome
The programme was specifically and solely about the case of a woman convicted of perverting the course of justice following multiple false claims of rape and grooming. 聽It examined the unique circumstances of her case, assessed the impact of her actions on members of the local community, and tried to cast some light on what led one individual to lie to the police over an extended period of time. 聽It did not refer to other instances of sexual exploitation, real or alleged, and the ECU saw no grounds for inferring it would have led viewers to make a comparison with the Rochdale case. 聽It therefore saw no basis for upholding the complaint.聽
Not upheld