Teesside & Durham Post Statement 3rd May 2026

Setting the record straight on a local councils malicious claims

3rd May 2026

We are aware of a statement issued by Hartlepool Borough Council in relation to an article we published yesterday concerning payments made by the Council to Gateshead Council & would like to clarify a number of issued raised.

The Teesside & Durham Post received a communication from Hartlepool Borough Council asserting that the article was “misleading”. However, no supporting evidence was provided to substantiate this claim. This forms part of an ongoing pattern in which the Council has made similar unsubstantiated assertions in response to articles published by this publication. In light of the repetition of these allegations, and their lack of evidential basis, the Council’s comments were removed from our platform.

Regarding Hartlepool Borough Councils claims of 'Misinformation', the Oxford English Dictionary may resolve this issue swiftly in that..

Misinformation is defined as "the act of giving wrong information about something; the wrong information that is given". It often refers to false or inaccurate information that is shared, though not necessarily with the deliberate intent to deceive.

Therefore, as Hartlepool Borough Council has never been able to evidence such claims either past or present, they've been formally notified that, should they continue to publish or repeat such allegations—including those disseminated via its official social media channels—we will consider appropriate legal action. For the avoidance of doubt, the article in question did not allege any wrongdoing and was based entirely on verifiable information, including data drawn from the Council’s own published expenditure records.

We operate a clear and robust corrections and complaints policy. Despite this, Hartlepool Borough Council has, on each occasion, elected not to engage with that process. Consequently, we cannot accept attempts by the Council to undermine or discredit the work of our journalists, which is undertaken in good faith and in the public interest.

In light of the Council’s most recent statements, we are now considering the initiation of civil proceedings for defamation. Furthermore, with regard to references to so-called “accredited media”, there is no statutory or legally defined designation of this nature. Any implication to the contrary appears to form part of a broader narrative which warrants scrutiny.

Accordingly, this matter may now proceed to formal legal resolution in due course as the Extremist Actions of a local council cannot detract from the work we've undertaken to build up this publication with its thousands of followers & supporters who rightly question where their money is being spent, whether that's in Hartlepool or Gateshead.