Humiliation for the Muslim Council of Britain, as their media spokesperson has lost an IPSO complaint against the Telegraph. Miqdaad Versi had made a complaint that an op-ed entitled “We’re not drifting into segregation, we’re hurtling perilously towards it”, written by Nick Timothy, breached Clause 1 (accuracy) of the Editors’ Code of Practice. The complaint has now been thrown out.

In the article, Timothy referenced a letter to schools from Gavin Williamson, “warning that while pupils are allowed to express political views, anti-Semitic language and threats must not be tolerated”, going on to state:

“In response to the Williamson letter, Miqdaad Versi, spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, complained that the Government was being ‘one-sided’. The letter, of course, was not about events in Israel, but the harassment of British Jews. In suggesting there might be two sides to racism, Versi revealed more than he intended about why the Government refuses to engage with the MCB.”

Versi argued that Timothy’s interpretation of his views was “based on misinterpretation of a Twitter thread he had posted” and claimed “he was calling on the government to also take action on the discrimination and racism encountered by Muslim children”

In the end neither party disputed that the alleged breach of Clause 1 had appeared in the context of the op-ed, merely disputing whether the alleged breach was presented as fact or comment within the comment piece. The body ultimately commended the Telegraph for publishing a letter from Versi, allowing him to put his point of view across…