A Times headline describing Rochdale as a “sex grooming town” in a report about the death of former imam Jalal Uddin has attracted more than 400 complaints.
The headline “Imam beaten to death in sex grooming town” was used in an online article published at midnight on Friday night. On Saturday it was criticised by Manchester’s police chief and Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk and by Sunday morning it had been changed to “Imam beaten to death in Rochdale”.
The number of complaints to the Independent Press Standards Organisation is expected to overtake those made over the Katie Hopkins article in the Sun in April that compared migrants to cockroaches.
The journalist bylined on the story, John Simpson, distanced himself from the headline on Saturday, tweeting “Oh dear. Journalists do not write headlines” and saying he had raised it with online staff overseeing the website.
@sarahcross84 I don't write headlines and wouldn't have written that one
— John Simpson (@thejohnsimpson) February 20, 2016
@sarahcross84 @thetimes I will raise it with online tomorrow - nobody in the office today. Have discussed with community leaders already.
— John Simpson (@thejohnsimpson) February 20, 2016
Ipso said it would not comment on the complaints until they have been assessed and it makes a decision on whether to launch an investigation. Ipso did not pursue an action for the Hopkins article against the Sun, which is owned by the same company as the Times, because it did not refer to a specific individual and thus did not break the editor’s code used by the regulator.
Greater Manchester police chief constable Ian Hopkins condemned the headline and demanded that the paper apologise.
In an open letter published on Twitter, he wrote: “Your headline and its irrelevance to this case has the potential to cause community tension. It is also offensive to the thousands of peaceful, law-abiding Muslims and non-Muslims living in Rochdale, who are shocked by this murder.”
Danczuk said the headline conflating Uddin’s faith and death with past child abuse scandals in the town was “some of the worst journalism I’ve ever seen – it’s Islamophobic”.
A 21-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy have been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the death of Uddin, who was found in a children’s playground with serious head injuries on Thursday.
A spokesperson for the Times declined to comment.
