The Independent Television Commission has fined Sky News £50,000 over a report that "misled viewers" during the war on Iraq.

Sky reporter James Forlong was forced to resign his position with the news organisation in July after a BBC documentary alleged parts of one of Forlong's reports during the Iraq war were faked. Forlong had claimed on the report, which was available to other broadcasters including ITN as part of the broadcasting pool system, that he had exclusive access to one of the Royal Navy's submarines, HMS Splendid. The BBC documentary claimed that footage of Splendid was instead based on library footage. In addition, the report led viewers to believe that Splendid was near Iraq; instead, filming had taken place while the submarine was in dock. Forlong was found dead in his home in October, having committed suicide.

The ITC concluded that the report breached regulations regarding due accuracy and the need for reconstructions to be labelled as such in current affairs and news programmes - and that the severity of the breach warranted a fine. However, the Commission noted that "once aware of the issue, Sky did not seek to evade or minimise the importance of what had occurred; the fact that Sky had relied on the skill and judgement of an experienced reporter, whose reports had never previously proved to be inaccurate; the particular security constraints under which the report was filmed; that this was an isolated incident and the only occasion when Sky’s reporting of the Iraq war had been called into question; and
the excellent compliance record of Sky News overall."