Wednesday 11 April 2018

Have the IPSO given a Green Light to racist columnists?


Has the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) given a green light to newspapers to publish racist articles.

According yo the BBC
 Complaints against a Sunday Times column that said the Second Severn Crossing linked "rain-sodden" Wales with the "first world" have been thrown out by a press standards body.
Rod Liddle's piece prompted nearly 80 complaints to the in two days.
IPSO rejected complaints of discrimination, saying the editor's code did not apply to groups of people.
The code does not address issues of taste, it added.
Mr Liddle's article followed a campaign launched last week against the renaming of the Second Severn Crossing to the Prince of Wales bridge.

In a letter of response to complainants, IPSO said the complaints against Mr Liddle's article do "not raise a possible breach of the Editors' Code".
It said many complainants said 

"that the article was racist or discriminatory because it was derogatory towards Wales, the Welsh language and Welsh people".
"Newspapers and magazines are free to publish what they think is appropriate as long as the rights of individuals - which are protected under the Code - are not infringed on," IPSO said.
In cases of alleged discrimination, IPSO said the code was designed to protect "identifiable individuals" and "does not apply to groups or categories of people".
But it added that "if [Plaid Cymru leader] Leanne Wood were to consider that the article discriminated against her personally, it would be for her to complain to IPSO".
Mr Liddle's article had referred to "that Plaid Cymru woman who is always on Question Time has been leading the protests" against the change in name. 

Just think about this  the code is there only to protect "identifiable individuals" and "does not apply to groups or categories of people".

We have just has Weeks of media coverage of Anti-Semitism within the Labour Party .

But it seems the IPSO would be powerless if a UK columnist made an stack on Jews in Britain only if he or she made an attack of an individual of that or any other faith.

Or any ethnic group or nationality.

Of course there are other legal opportunities, the IPSO argued that claims of inciting racial hatred were a matter for the police, but it appears  that this seems to be also blocked.

On Monday, Clwyd South Labour MP Susan Elan Jones said she had asked North Wales Police to investigate whether Mr Liddle had broken laws against inciting racial hatred.

Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones said:

 "North Wales Police have carried out an assessment and have come to the conclusion that no criminal offence has taken place.
"However, that does not change the fact that the views expressed in the Sunday Times are morally repugnant and an absolute disgrace."

I bet if this had been made on Twitter or Facebook by an internet Troll and not by a media columnist then the complaint may have been taken more seriously.

IPSO also rejected complaints that the article was inaccurate because it suggested the Welsh language had no vowels.

"The article was plainly not intended to give authoritative information on linguistics; it was a comment piece,".

What extent of racial slur  can be passed of as  " comment piece,"?

 This is  not  just about Wales now, If the IPS judgement  s taken as policy it is given a Green Light   to racist columnist to attack any group so long as they don't single out individualls.

As the media constantly attack Labour for failing  to counter Anti-Semitism  in their ranks. It seems that it is OK or them to smear any ethnic group so long as they don't name "identifiable individuals"

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