A coalition of religious leaders, academics, politicians and campaigners have accused the Daily Mail of trying to incite hatred by suggesting foreign drivers are __more likely to use their phones while driving.
The front page story on Wednesday – linked to the 10-year sentence handed to a lorry driver who killed four members of one family while using his phone – claimed to have caught on camera 17 foreign truck drivers using their mobiles while travelling at 50mph.
In a letter to the Guardian, __more than 50 figures from across public life, including serving and former police chiefs, said the story was an “unjustifiable slur” that ignored the fact the vast majority of those caught using their phones while driving would be from the UK.
The letter also praised the Mail’s campaign to toughen laws against using mobiles when driving, but said Wednesday’s front page article would stoke division while doing little to tackle the issue.
The head of liberal Judaism in the UK, rabbi Danny Rich, Liberal peer and former deputy Metropolitan police commissioner, Brian Paddick, and National Union of Teachers general secretary, Kevin Courtney, were among those putting their names to the letter, which was organised by the Muslim Council of Britain.
They wrote: “This is an unjustifiable slur with no evidence that incites hatred and ill-feeling towards the ‘other’, while doing little to advance the Mail’s goal of toughening law enforcement or supporting the families of those killed in this incident.
“In a climate where hate crime against minority communities is on the rise, many have already publicly commented on how they believe such a front page article to be wholly irresponsible.”
One of the signatories, Greater Manchester police chief Ian Hopkins, added that while media coverage of the dangers of using phones while driving was welcome, the message could be lost if reporting was not balanced.
“It is really important we don’t blame particular communities or groups of individuals without evidence,” he said.
The letter follows criticism of the front page on social media, with Gary Lineker – who has been attacked by some in the press for speaking in support of migrants – describing it as “horribly wrong”.
Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker)
Would never condone using a phone whilst driving, but to suggest it's only foreigners is just so horribly wrong. pic.twitter.com/HS5VoWyIvJ
November 1, 2016
The Sun ran a similar story about truck drivers using their mobiles, but did not suggest it was any more prevalent among those from outside the UK.
The letter continued: “There is no doubt in our minds that reporting the news is a force for good, as it uncovers the truth and informs our society.
“We only hope that the Mail is able to reflect on whether its coverage of minority groups in our society does indeed uphold the highest professional standards of responsible journalism, or rather fuels divisions with real-life consequences.”
A Daily Mail spokeswoman said: “The Mail dispatched photographers to a number of locations to monitor continuing mobile phone abuse by lorry drivers. In the event, a disproportionate number of cases came from the M20, all involving foreign vehicles. We simply reported what we found, while stressing in the article that this is a wide-ranging problem which is not restricted to foreign drivers.
“It was entirely legitimate to highlight this aspect of the problem, particularly since, as we have revealed, most UK haulage firms ask employees to sign a declaration that they will not use mobile devices at the wheel while many foreign firms do not.
“The Mail is proud of its campaign that has highlighted the terrible loss of lives caused by the irresponsible use of mobile phones by drivers of all nationalities. Indeed if the signatories of this letter spent as much time worrying about innocent people being killed in this way rather than making bogus allegations of racism, Britain would be a much safer place.”