The landlord of a popular Norwich city centre pub is suing the Government’s Ministry of Justice for loss of income and damage to his reputation for mistakenly reporting he owed a £1/4 million in debt following a County Court judgment, which saw people take their business away from the venue as they thought it would soon close. Instead, landlord Simon Carpenter says the Pig and Whistle on All Saints Green continues to thrive and that the actual sum should have been reported as just over £2,300, which he owed to a property consultancy.

Ben Dures of Scott-Moncrieff, is acting for Mr Carpenter against the MOJ. He says: "Following a County Court judgment Simon Carpenter owed £2,302 to a property company, but the figure reported in the media was £218,873. This incorrect sum was sourced from the MOJ's reporting of the case.

"The MOJ has admitted they got their figures wrong, but the Ministry denies that its mistake could have had a detrimental effect on the Pig and Whistle. We have proof that business was withdrawn because people feared the pub would be closing due to the alleged debt. We are seeking compensation of £10,000 for the Pig and Whistle's lost revenue and damaged reputation."

Simon Carpenter explains: "Within days of the huge and wrong figure being reported the Pig and Whistle lost two significant bookings: a wedding reception and a pool team who played their home matches at the pub. In both cases the customers told me they had seen the report about the alleged debt of almost £1/4 million. While they were sympathetic they said they could not risk their events and feared my pub would soon be out of business. It's a shocking situation and the MOJ made it worse by not engaging properly to resolve it."

Ben Dures at Scott-Moncrieff continues: "There were other lost bookings and a general downturn in business as many people assumed that Mr Carpenter had ceased trading, or was about to.

"It may seem a small, simple mistake, but it has cost Mr Carpenter dearly and it goes on costing the Pig and Whistle in its lost business and damaged reputation. We are making a claim for £10,000 compensation against the MOJ."

16th December, 2015