British Muslim journalist 'frightened' by clearing of anti-hijab article

British Muslim journalist Fatima Manji has said that a decision by the UK press regulator not to uphold her complaint about a discriminatory article was "frightening".

Manji, a journalist for Channel 4 News, had complained to UK press regulator Ipso that an article by columnist Kelvin MacKenzie had breached its clauses of accuracy, harassment and discrimination.

In the Sun magazine column published in July, MacKenzie had written that a reporter wearing a headscarf should not have been allowed to report on the Nice terror attacks.

In his column, MacKenzie had questioned whether it was appropriate or not "for journalists to wear prominent symbols of their faith on air, particularly when reporting on stories with a religious angle".

In its ruling earlier this week, Ipso said Mr MacKenzie was "entitled to express" his views, and that his column "did not include a prejudicial or pejorative reference to the complainant on the grounds of religion".

Speaking to the BBC on Thursday in response to the Ipso decision, Manji said that the regulator's clearing of MacKenzie signified "open season" on minorities.

"I think the fact that Kelvin MacKenzie can write a column and suggest that I am somehow sympathetic to a perpetrator of a terrorist attack, that somehow I am not like the rest of us, that I am the other, means that other people are now open to attack," she said.

"It was upsetting enough to find my picture in what is Britain's most widely read newspaper next to the words 'Muslim terror attack'," she said.

"It was upsetting enough to find myself the latest victim to Kelvin Mackenzie's tirade. But now to know that has been given the green light by the press regulator and that effectively it is open season on minorities, and Muslims in particular, is frightening."

The journalist said individuals at The Sun and at News UK had reached out to her privately, saying they were "embarrassed and ashamed that MacKenzie was allowed to peddle such hatred".