Code of ethics

Whitehall Minute exists to report what public bodies, governments and institutions say and do, accurately and quickly, from their own words and documents. These are the standards we hold ourselves to.

Accuracy

We report only what we can support from a source we have read ourselves. Quotations are exact. Figures are checked against the source, and any calculation of our own is identified as ours. If a source corrects or withdraws a statement, we update our story.

Attribution

Every story names its sources and links to them. Where we reproduce an official text in full, the page names the issuing body, links to the original and states the licence under which it is reproduced.

Independence and fairness

Whitehall Minute is editorially independent. It is not part of, funded by or affiliated with any government, political party or organisation we report on. We report what was said without adding opinion, and we include the caveats and limits that a source itself states.

Privacy and harm

We take particular care with stories involving deaths, crime, health and children. We do not identify victims of sexual offences or children involved in proceedings, and we do not speculate about guilt or motive.

Corrections and complaints

Errors are corrected promptly and transparently. Complaints are handled under our complaints procedure.

Advertising

Advertisers have no influence over what we publish. Advertising is clearly labelled and does not appear on pages about deaths, attacks or disasters.