NEWSPAPER headlines have helped to create an Islamophobic sentiment, the new boss at the Daily and Sunday Express has admitted to MPs.
At a probe into hate crime, Gary Jones admitted he felt “very uncomfortable” looking through previous Express front pages, and said some were “downright offensive”.
The editor-in-chief was one of a number of senior journalists who faced a grilling by MPs on the treatment of people from minority groups by the press.
Jones, who took over the role in March, said: “Each and every editor has a responsibility for every single word that is published in the newspaper and yes, cumulatively, some of the headlines that have appeared in the past have created an Islamophobic sentiment, which I find uncomfortable.”
Jones said he was making changes at the newspapers.
“I’ve gone through a lot of former Express front pages and I have felt very uncomfortable looking at them,” he said.
“I wouldn’t want to be party to any newspaper that will publish such material. I have to accept as a newspaper editor that people have different views to my own and that the newspaper is there to represent the broader section of views, but I think there are limits as to how far you should go into an honest and fair-minded society.”
The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee is investigating hate crime and its violent consequences.
Paul Clarkson, managing editor of The Sun, said he apologised for errors in a story that said one in five British Muslims had sympathy for jihadis. He added: “We are sorry if we offended anyone.”
He declined to apologise for a “cut out and keep” guide to what terrorists look like.
Clarkson said The Sun, which has run a number of stories on transgender men and women, had an “excellent” relationship with trans groups.
Associated Newspapers editor emeritus Peter Wright told the committee that the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday try to report difficult issues in an even-handed and sensible way.
He said: “We go to great lengths to avoid any articles that could possibly contribute to Islamophobia. But, you still have to report difficult issues. There have been claims of Islamophobia surrounding the reporting of sex grooming gangs in Rotherham and elsewhere. You can’t, I’m afraid, ignore the fact that these crimes appear to have a cultural background to them.”
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