IPSO, the association of newspaper publishers which handles complaints against the press, has announced that it will investigate two complaints about an article published by The Sun about Meghan Markle. The article was published almost seven weeks ago.Hacked Off Chief Executive Nathan Sparkes said,

It has taken IPSO almost seven weeks to determine that a newspaper article calling for a woman to be pelted with excrement might represent a breach of standards. This is a conclusion any competent regulator would be capable of meeting in seven minutes.The reality is that IPSO's hands are tied because it is forced to use a standards code drawn up by the newspaper industry itself, which is packed with loopholes to protect the press. IPSO's rules, which make a full standards investigation impossible, are controlled by a committee of newspaper executives which includes a lawyer employed by The Sun's publisher.The likelihood of any appropriate sanction from IPSO remains, therefore, close to zero.A competent regulator would have investigated and sanctioned The Sun six and a half weeks ago. Instead we have had months of inaction, followed by the announcement that two complaints are to be taken forward - suggesting many more months of inaction to come. Noone should hold their breath for an appropriate outcome.

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