The Daily Mail has issued an apology after describing a charity as “pro-terrorist”.
The paper said today it was “happy to make clear” that the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT), which it referred to as a “pro-terrorist charity”, does not support or fund terrorism.
The error appeared in a first edition headline on an article published on 27 May about the funding of the organisation responsible for a controversial referendum advert.
The advert, produced ahead of the EU referendum by Operation Black Vote, showed a white skinhead balanced on a see-saw with an older South Asian woman in a sari and the words: “A vote is a vote”.
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It attracted criticism for its use of stereotypes, including from London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
The Mail reported that JRCT has given Operation Black Vote more than £100,000 over two years.
But the paper said it was happy to clarify that “while the JRCT is one of two organisations providing core funding to Operation Black Vote, it had no prior knowledge of the advert and did not pay for it”.
The JRCT is a Quaker trust which claims to “seek to transform the world by supporting people who address the root causes of conflict and injustice”, according to its website.
This support is provided, primarily, through funding applied for by applicants, it states online.
The Mail’s apology in full:
“The first edition headline on an article on May 27 about the funding of the organisation responsible for a controversial referendum advert referred to the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust as a ‘pro-terrorist charity’.
“We are happy to make clear that the JRCT does not support or fund terrorism. We apologise for the error.
“We are also happy to clarify that, while the JRCT is one of two organisations providing core funding to Operation Black Vote, it had no prior knowledge of the advert and did not pay for it.”
The Daily Mail has previously criticised the JRCT for supporting groups which it says encourage terrorism such as Cage and Teach na Failte.
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