24 October 2016
Today the Muslim Council of Britain wrote a letter to the Chairman of IPSO to seek clarification of its independence after one of its board members published an article conveying worrying attitudes to a woman’s choice of dress, and even more astonishingly, attacking a complainant to IPSO. The full letter can be seen below. (Update: The MCB has received a response from the Chairman of IPSO, which is shared further below).
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Dear Sir Alan,
On behalf of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), I would like to request a clarification on the independence of IPSO and its Board, following an article in the Sun by one of the Board’s members Mr Trevor Kavanagh.
On 24 October, at the bottom of an article entitled “Gary Lineker forgets that we’re not racist – we just don’t like being conned”, Mr Kavanagh writes about the Channel 4 News reporter Ms Fatima Manji: “[she] made a fool of herself by accusing my old editor Kelvin MacKenzie of discrimination…She knew precisely what she was doing”. Over and above the worrying attitude whereby an IPSO board member is saying that a woman provoked the audience by her choice of dress – a view quite abhorrent to most – it is concerning that an IPSO Board member is attacking a complainant to IPSO. This raises serious questions about the independence of IPSO.
We very much would like a clarification as to what independence means in the Independent Press Standards Organisation and whether the actions of Mr Kavanagh to complainants to IPSO are in line with the expectations of Board members of IPSO.
Thank you
Yours,
Miqdaad Versi,
Assistant Secretary General
Muslim Council of Britain
Response from IPSO:
“Trevor Kavanagh is not a member of our Complaints Committee and has no involvement in any rulings made by IPSO.
The views expressed by Mr Kavanagh in his column following the IPSO ruling on Manji v The Sun were made in a personal capacity and do not represent the view of IPSO”.