• It is the Lending Standards Board, not the Payment Systems Regulator, that oversees the Contingent Reimbursement Model Code, designed to protect consumers from “push payment” scams (Starling refused a scam refund to grieving father, 17 March, p57).
• A letter published on 24 March about Birmingham city council spending cuts suggested “only a third” of council seats would be up in the “May 2024 elections”. In fact, the council moved to an “all-up” system in 2018, meaning all seats are now contested every four years. The next city council election is in 2026.
• An article referred to the absence of İlkay Gündoğan from Manchester City’s 2021 Champions League final lineup. In fact, Gündoğan did play in this game; the intended reference was to Fernandinho (Which Núñez shows up and how Stones steps up could prove critical, 10 March, Sport, p20).
• We said that the English navigator William Adams, who landed in Japan in 1600 and was the inspiration for James Clavell’s novel Shōgun as well as a new Disney TV series, was “Japan’s first foreign samurai”. An African man known as Yasuke, who arrived in Japan in 1579, is credited with that distinction (Why the English samurai’s life and legacy still grip Japan, 400 years on, 24 March, p29).
• The name Reykjavík means “smoky bay” (or “bay of smokes”), rather than “stormy bay” as a travel piece said (Reykjavik rambles, 17 March, Magazine, p43).
• Other recently amended articles include:
Burden falls on Prince William to steer monarchy through next few months
• Write to the Readers’ Editor, the Observer, York Way, London N1 9GU, email observer.readers@observer.co.uk, tel 020 3353 4736