Ms Mel McKeown, Head of Communications at Fareham Borough Council, complained that an article had reported the results of a survey which had inaccurately claimed that Fareham was the least desirable place in live in Britain. In fact, statistics from the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Home Office and the Office of National Statistics clearly demonstrated that Fareham had experienced higher average house prices – one of the criteria used by the survey – than Cheltenham, the most desirable place to live according to the survey. The statistics also demonstrated that Fareham had a lower level of deprivation, lower unemployment and lower crime figures than the place at the top of the poll.

The complaint was resolved when the newspaper published a letter from Councillor Sean Woodward, Leader of Fareham Borough Council, setting out the statistics: unemployment in Cheltenham was at 1.7%, while in Fareham it was barely 1%; there were fewer crimes per 1,000 in theft of – and from – vehicles, burglary, violence and robbery in Fareham than in Cheltenham; and reported crime in Cheltenham was anything up to five times higher than in Fareham.