PCC declares it is satisfied by Scotsman apology to Salmond

THE Press Complaints Commission has declared itself satisfied with an apology run by The Scotsman to First Minister, Alex Salmond, after reporting he had incorrectly answered a mathematics question.

In an interview last month with BBC Scotland political editor, Brian Taylor, Salmond was asked to divide 24 by zero.

His answer – infinity – was correct. When The Scotsman reported his seeming ‘stumping’, a couple of readers duly complained.

And today, the PCC says the complaint was resolved by an apology earlier this month, which read: “In our story of 18 April headlined, ‘Salmond Stumped by a Mother’s Maths Question, we reported that First Minster, Alex Salmond, had erred on an arithmetic question posed by a member of the public during a BBC webcast.

“Mr Salmond was asked to divide 24 by zero and gave the answer infinity. He was told by the BBC interviewer that the correct answer was zero. Mr Salmond’s answer of infinity was, in fact, correct. We are happy to set the record straight.”