The Board of Deputies has condemned as “very regrettable” an article by Kelvin MacKenzie, the former editor of the Sun, criticising Channel 4 for using a Muslim reporter in a hijab to report on the terror attack in Nice.

Mr MacKenzie questioned whether Fatima Manji, who wears the Muslim head covering, should have been allowed to report on events in France, asking “was it appropriate for her to be on camera when there had been yet another shocking slaughter by a Muslim?”

He went on to challenge the network over whether it would have used a Hindu to report on the Golden Temple Massacre at Amritsar, or an Orthodox Jew to cover the Israeli-Palestine conflict, saying in both cases, “of course not”.

Marie Van der Zyl, vice president of the Board of Deputies, condemned the Mr MacKenzie’s comments, which appeared in his regular column for the Sun today.

She said: “The article makes the unhelpful and unsupported assumption that a Muslim presenter cannot give adequate balance to a story on Islamist extremism.

“This drives a wedge between Muslims and others, which will alienate British Muslims, when in fact most Muslims are as appalled at extremism as the rest of us and are the most important constituency in the fight against it.”

A spokeswoman for Channel 4 news said that Mr MacKenzie's comments were "offensive and completely unacceptable."

She added, "It is wrong to suggest that a qualified journalist should be barred from reporting on a particular story or present on a specific day because of their faith. Fatima Manji is an award-winning journalist. We are proud that she is part of our team and will receive, as ever, our full support in the wake of his comments.”