Former Sun editor 'entitled' to attack hijab-wearing newsreader: Watchdog

A complaint from a Muslim Channel 4 presenter against a column written in the Sun by Kelvin Mackenzie has not been upheld by the press regulator.

Former Sun editor Mackenzie wrote a column criticising Channel 4 for allowing Fatima Manji, who wears the hijab, to report on the aftermath of the Nice Terror attacks.

More than 1700 people complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), but in its ruling, IPSO said that Mackenzie was “entitled to express” his views.

According to the British press regulator, the article written by Mackenzie was not “prejudicial” or “pejorative” toward Manji, and praised it for triggering a “legitimate subject of debate about whether newsreaders should be allowed to wear religious symbols.”

The regulator in its ruling said: “The article did not include a prejudicial or pejorative reference to the complainant on the grounds of religion.”

In the article MacKenzie questioned the decision to have Manji as a presenter on the day of the attacks: "Was it appropriate for her to be on camera when there had been yet another shocking slaughter by a Muslim? Was it done to stick one in the eye of the ordinary viewer who looks at the hijab as a sign of the slavery of Muslim women by a male- dominated and clearly violent religion?"

In its ruling, IPSO said: “While the columnist’s opinion was undoubtedly offensive to the complainant, and to others, these were views he had been entitled to express.”  

In response to the ruling, Ben de Pear, who edits Channel 4 News, said that Manji had been a victim of religious discrimination.

In a statement De Pear said: “His inflammatory comments on Fatima Manji’s professional status, which were widely condemned, and his attempts to equate the wearing of a hijab with support for terrorism, have no place in a properly informed and tolerant society.

“At Channel 4 News we employ reporters based on their journalistic skills, not their ethnicity. We see no reason why a Muslim journalist should be prevented from covering any story and Fatima will continue to report and present the news on the issues of the day with impartiality and depth."

Manji also complained to the press regulator by saying that Mackenzie’s article had breached clause one (accuracy), clause three (harassment) and clause 12 (discrimination) of the press code.

In March IPSO upheld a complaint against the Sun for breaching the editors’ code on accuracy after it published a front-page article claiming that one in five British Muslims had sympathy for “jihadis”.