Ofcom rejects complaints over Muslim journalist reporting on Nice attack

Religious discrimination: Ofcom rejected complainta made about Ms Manji presenting the news
Channel 4 News
Chloe Chaplain22 August 2016

Broadcast regulator Ofcom has rejected complaints that it was inappropriate for Channel 4 to allow a Muslim journalist wearing a hijab to report on the Nice attack.

Ofcom received a total of 17 complaints after Fatima Manji presented coverage of the Islamic State truck attack in July.

Kelvin MacKenzie, former editor and now columnist at the Sun, attacked the decision in his column and called on readers to complain.

Mr MacKenzie wrote: “Was it appropriate for her to be on camera when there had been yet another shocking slaughter by a Muslim?

Inciting hatred: Hundreds of people complained about Mr MacKenzie's column 
Getty Images

“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?”

Ofcom assessed the complaints but decided there are no grounds to launch a full investigation.

“We received a small number of complaints that it was inappropriate for a presenter wearing a hijab to present a report on the attack in Nice,” said a spokesman for Ofcom.

“We won’t be taking the matter forward for investigation. The selection of a presenter is an editorial matter for the broadcaster, and the way in which the presenter chose to dress in this case did not raise any issues under our rules.”

IPSO complaints: Kelvin MacKenzie's column appeared in The Sun's print edition and online

Ms Manji has since complained about his comments to IPSO on the grounds of “religious discrimination”.

Ben De Pear, editor of Channel 4 News, said: "ITN believes the article was in breach of a number of provisions of the Editors' Code, in particular discrimination, harassment by intimidation

"A further complaint was also made by ITN CEO John Hardie, which fully supports and endorses the grounds and reasoning of Fatima's complaint.

Mr De Pear added: "ITN accepts and understands that our reporters and presenters are in the public eye and can expect criticism and comment from many quarters, including newspaper columnists.

"What it cannot accept is an employee being singled out on the basis of her religion.

"We are not going to simply stand by when an employee is subject to an act of religious discrimination."

More than 1700 people have contacted IPSO in complaint of Mr Mackenzie’s column.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT