Editorial standards and terms

1. Editorial purpose

British SME reports on developments that can materially affect small and medium-sized businesses in the United Kingdom. We aim to answer four questions clearly: what happened, who may be affected, when it matters and what a business owner should verify or consider next.

Our coverage includes public policy, taxation, finance, employment, technology, legal and regulatory change, operations, trade and sector developments. We prioritise usefulness and accuracy over volume or sensation.

2. Sources and verification

Wherever practical, reporting should be anchored in primary material such as government and regulator publications, legislation, official statistics, company filings, consultation papers or statements from the organisation responsible. A secondary report may identify a story, but important facts should be checked against the underlying evidence when it is available.

• Dates, money, thresholds and eligibility conditions must be checked especially carefully.
• Direct quotations must be attributable to a traceable source and must not be invented or materially altered.
• Forecasts, proposals and consultations must not be described as settled rules.
• Headlines must reflect the evidence and should not exaggerate certainty, urgency or impact.
• Articles should link to material sources so readers can inspect the evidence themselves.

3. Automation and AI assistance

British SME uses automated and AI-assisted tools in parts of story discovery, research, drafting, illustration, quality checking and publishing. Some articles may therefore be produced and published with substantial automation.

Automation is assistance, not evidence. It must not fabricate facts, sources, quotations, people or experience. Our publishing process is designed to require a real source trail, basic duplication checks and practical relevance to UK SMEs. If an automated process cannot establish those things, the item should not be published.

We remain responsible for published material regardless of the tools used. Readers can ask how a specific article was sourced or report a concern through the correction route below.

4. Corrections and updates

When a material factual error is confirmed, we will correct it as promptly as practical. A correction may amend the article, add a note, update a headline or, in exceptional cases, withdraw the page. Developing stories may be updated as new evidence appears.

To request a correction, email contact@britishsme.co.uk with the page URL, the statement at issue and a reliable supporting source. We distinguish a factual correction from a difference of opinion.

5. Independence, commercial material and conflicts

Directory listings, advertising, affiliate relationships, sponsorship or supplied material must not buy favourable editorial coverage. Where content is sponsored, advertorial or contains a material commercial relationship, it should be labelled clearly enough for a reader to understand that before acting on it.

Writers and editors should avoid undisclosed interests that could reasonably call coverage into question. A relevant material conflict should be disclosed or the story assigned elsewhere.

6. Fairness, attribution and privacy

We aim to represent people and organisations fairly, attribute claims accurately and avoid unnecessary intrusion into private life. Allegations should be described as allegations unless established by reliable evidence. We do not knowingly publish unlawfully discriminatory, defamatory or copyrighted material.

7. General information, not professional advice

British SME provides general news and information. It is not a substitute for legal, tax, financial, accounting, investment, employment, cyber-security or other professional advice tailored to a particular business. Rules and circumstances change; check the current official position and obtain qualified advice where the decision is important.

8. Website terms

By using this website, you agree to use it lawfully and not attempt to disrupt, overload, scrape abusively, gain unauthorised access to or misuse the site or its data. We may change, suspend or remove material and features without notice.

Unless stated otherwise, site copy, branding and original illustrations are owned by or licensed to Latitude60 Ltd. You may link to our public pages and quote brief extracts with clear attribution. Republishing a whole article, image or substantial part of the site requires prior permission.

We work to keep information accurate and the site available, but do not guarantee that every page will be error-free, complete, current or continuously accessible. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Latitude60 Ltd is not liable for loss arising solely from reliance on general information published here. Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

9. Publisher and governing law

BritishSME.co.uk is a trading style of Latitude60 Ltd, company number 14841042, registered office 128 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX. These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and disputes are subject to the jurisdiction of its courts unless mandatory law provides otherwise.

10. Contact

Questions about these standards or permission to reuse material can be sent to contact@britishsme.co.uk. Personal-data requests are handled under our Privacy Policy.