IPSO issues ruling on complaint against the Sun brought by Fatima Manji

The Independent Press Standards Organisation has issued its ruling on the complaint brought by Fatima Manji against the Sun in an article published on 18 July 2016.

 

Commenting on the complaint brought by Fatima Manji against The Sun, IPSO Chief Executive Matt Tee said:

“IPSO received more than 1,900 complaints about Kelvin McKenzie’s piece and our Complaints Committee acknowledged in its ruling that many of those complainants, including Ms. Manji herself, found the article both distressing and offensive.

In reaching its decision that the article did not breach the Code, the Complaints Committee noted the balance between protecting the rights of individuals with freedom of expression. While the Code prohibits prejudicial or pejorative references to an individual, this is not the case for a particular religion, even though such criticisms may cause offence.

Mr Tee added:

“IPSO is committed to a trusted, free and responsible press and will reach our judgements only after careful and considered discussion of the evidence we receive from complainant and newspaper. We know our ruling will not please everyone but we are confident that our conclusion is the right one."

Read the full ruling