Editorial Standards & Corrections Policy

Our Mission

Brethren Intelligence is an independent investigative platform reporting on the commercial network, political influence, charitable structures and community impact of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC). Our purpose is to provide accurate, evidenced, publicly accessible journalism about an organisation that has received significant sums of public money and that operates with a level of opacity we believe the public interest requires to be examined.

We do not campaign for or against any religious belief. We report on verifiable facts about commercial activity, public money and accountability.

Core Principles

Accuracy

Every factual claim in our investigations is sourced to a public record — Companies House filings, ASIC records, government contract databases, charity commission accounts, court proceedings, electoral records or other verifiable documents. We do not publish unverified allegations.

Independence

Brethren Intelligence is funded entirely by subscriptions and has no advertising. We have no financial relationships with any PBCC-connected entity, no current or former membership, and no family connections to the PBCC. Our founder Damian Hastie has no personal grievance with the organisation — his involvement began through analysis of public contract data.

Transparency

All investigations state their sources. Where we draw conclusions that go beyond the documentary record, we say so explicitly and label them as analysis or editorial. Editorial pieces representing personal commentary are clearly marked throughout the library.

Fairness

Subjects of factual investigations are offered the right of reply before publication where the investigation makes specific claims about named individuals or organisations. Where responses are received, they are included in or appended to the article.

Separation of fact and opinion

Factual investigations and editorial commentary are clearly distinguished. Editorial pieces carry an explicit editorial label and disclaimer. The views expressed in editorials are those of the author and do not constitute allegations of fact.

Methodology

Our investigations are conducted entirely through open-source research and public records. Primary sources include:

Companies House (UK) and ASIC (Australia) company filings
UK Government contract databases and spend data (Contracts Finder, DHSC)
Charity Commission accounts and filings
Electoral Commission records (UK) and AEC records (Australia)
Land Registry and planning application records
Court records and published judgments
Parliamentary records, Hansard and committee submissions
Freedom of Information responses

We define a company or individual as PBCC-connected where that connection is evidenced by documentary records — directorship, shareholding, shared premises with a known PBCC entity, or explicit identification in PBCC-published materials. We do not attribute PBCC connections based on names, appearance or rumour.

AI Disclosure

Brethren Intelligence uses AI tools to assist with research, drafting and formatting. All published content is reviewed, edited and approved by a human editor. AI is not used to generate factual claims — those are always sourced to verifiable public records. AI-assisted content is not labelled separately as the human editorial process applies uniformly.

Corrections Policy

How We Handle Corrections

If we publish a factual error, we will correct it promptly and transparently. Corrections are made directly in the article and noted at the end of the piece with the date of correction and a clear description of what was changed and why.

We do not silently edit articles to remove errors. The original error and the correction are both recorded.

To request a correction, contact us at brethrenintelligence.com/contact.html. Please provide the article URL, the specific claim you believe to be incorrect, and the evidence supporting the correction.

Complaints

If you believe any content on Brethren Intelligence is inaccurate, unfair or in breach of these standards, please contact us using the form on our Contact page. We will acknowledge complaints within 5 working days and respond substantively within 20 working days.

Brethren Intelligence is an independent publication and is not currently a member of IPSO or any other press regulator. We operate under these self-published editorial standards and UK defamation and data protection law.

About the Publisher

Brethren Intelligence is published by Open & Candid Ltd, Company No SC762730, registered in Scotland. The founder and editor is Damian Hastie. The platform has been publishing since 2020 and operates at brethrenintelligence.com.

Corrections, complaints & press enquiries

We respond to all substantive queries