Trevor Kavanagh recently drafted an opinion piece in the Sun where the article ended with the following statement, “What will we do about the Muslim Problem then?”
IPSO has dismissed complaints made by members of the public on the article, effectively saying that because Kavanagh did not target an individual for discriminatory speech and language, but rather a group, the article was not grounds for discrimination. The ruling cites the following:
“15. The Committee noted the complainant’s concern that the article discriminated against Muslims. Clause 12 of the Code protects identifiable individuals from discrimination; it does not relate to discrimination against groups or categories of people. The complainant’s concern that the article discriminated against Muslims in general did not breach Clause 12.”
Tell MAMA has issued the following statement on this ruling:
“IPSO’s ruling once again shows that it cares little about the intolerance that is shown to groups of people by some commentators and that unless a person is clearly targeted for discriminatory language in an article, it will not really act. So, suggestions of a “Muslim problem”, in IPSO’s eyes, mean that such language is not discriminatory and that since a group of people are being cited, there is no action that they can take. IPSO takes the view that people as a group who are maligned, have no right to protection through their complaints process, further undermining any real credibility in this group. Such decisions are also disengaging its relevance from many communities and making it slowly become the dinosaur it looks to be in a rapidly changing set of social dynamics.”