An official press release issued announcing millions of pounds of new investment across the country contained several geographical errors on where various towns and cities were located, suggesting that staff need to get out more. Mistakes included saying that Plymouth was in the North West and that Manchester was in fact in the North East of England.

A spokesman for the government department said the problem had occurred due to a “data source issue”. However, this didn’t stop the document being sent out to numerous journalists before anyone saw the mistakes in the document. The department responsible said that the errors were simply a mix up in the sorting and formulating options that had been used and that staff were aware of the correct locations of places in England. However looking at some of the errors, I’m not convinced:

Telford and Wrekin Council, located in the West Midlands region, was described as being in the East of England.

Greater Manchester, located in the North West, was described as being in the North East.

Warrington, in the North West, was described as being in the North East.

Northumberland, in the North East, was described as being in the North West.

Plymouth, in the South West, was described as being in the North West.

Leicestershire, in the East Midlands, was described as being in the South East.

Hampshire in the South East, was described as being in the South West.

The Isle of Wight, in the South East, was described as being in the South West.

The errors were pointed out to them by the BBC who had received an advance copy and the errors have been corrected in the document that has been released today. However, it might be a good idea for the government to check their information, even on advance copies as this was dealing with information that was announcing millions of pounds of investment in green transport projects across the regions of England that actually are located outside of London. Even better, they should grab a map, put on one of the great Trespass jackets we currently have in stock and actually prove they know where places are by leaving the confines of London and visiting the actual places mentioned.