Mea Culpa: update on a continuing campaign

Questions of language and style in last week’s Independent, answered by John Rentoul

Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to achieve a ‘fair and lasting peace’ are ongoing (PA)

There was a lot going on over the past seven days. Or “ongoing”, as we often put it. After last week’s resumption of my campaign against “amid”, this week I shall take up another of this column’s long-running feuds, this time against a mostly pointless journalistic tic.

In each of the following five examples, the word “ongoing” could simply have been deleted.

“Mr Macron, who spoke to Mr Aliyev on Wednesday, said the fighting compromised ongoing efforts to achieve ‘fair and lasting peace’.”