The Press Gazette reports on the apology by the Spectator's Associate Editor, Rod Liddle, for his use of the term ‘black savages’ in a blog written about the alleged murderers of Drummer Lee Rigby, Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale.

The Gazette notes Riddle’s original entry saying:

“I was slightly puzzled by the early media reports of the appalling murder in Woolwich and particularly the wrangling over whether or not this could be called ‘a terrorist attack’.

“Does it make much difference? Two black savages hacked a man to death while shouting Allahu Akbar; that’s really all you need to know, isn’t it?

“In a sense calling it an act of terrorism somehow dignifies the barbarism.

“The media will now go into crowd-control mode and tell us how all Muslims are as shocked by this attack as are the rest of us and how Islam is a peaceable religion. No, it isn’t.”

The blog post was later amended to read ‘two savages’ and Liddle issued this by way of apology:

“To avoid the ludicrous phrase 'men of Muslim appearance' I originally used the word ‘black’ to describe the appearance of the knifemen. If anyone took that wrong way, I’m very sorry.”

Liddle has something of a penchant for the phrase ‘savages’ having used it often before in his blogs about ‘Muslim savages’.

The Gazette article helpfully notes Article 12 of the Editors’ Code of Practice which requires the press to (i) avoid prejudicial or pejorative reference to an individual's race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or to any physical or mental illness or disability, and maintains that (ii) details of an individual's race, colour, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental illness or disability must be avoided unless genuinely relevant to the story.

The Asian Image newspaper reports on racist slogans that were painted onto “a security door, pavements and commercial bin” in Cobden Street in Burnley.

The initials of the far right English Defence League and the British National Party were also painted on the pavement of the side street.

Suspecting a correlation between the acts of racist vandalism and the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich on Wednesday, Coun Gary Frayling, said:

“I think there’s a connection with what went on in Woolwich, because of the EDL and how they reacted to it.

“It’s absolutely disgusting.

“It’s not happened here for a long time and suddenly, after what happened to the soldier in Woolwich, this has happened. It must be linked.”

The Voice newspaper reports on a suspected revenge attack on an Islamic centre in Brixton yesterday.

The paper reports on the attack, which took place in the early hours of Monday when vandals “threw a stone which smashed a window of religious building and Islamic Cultural Centre, in Gresham Road”.

A police spokesperson told the paper, “Lambeth Police met with the Iman [sic] and other faith and community representatives last week and continue to liaise with the mosque during the investigation of this crime."

Local paper, York Press, reports on the successful use of a mosque open day to defuse tensions arising from an English Defence League protest in York at the weekend.

EDL members were intent on gathering for a protest in front of York mosque with The Guardian reporting that a St George’s flag was nailed to the fence in front of the mosque.

In a bid to open a dialogue with the EDL, members of the mosque invited them in for tea and biscuits and to hear the reactions of the local Muslim community to the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby.

Ismail Miah, president of York mosque, said: "Under the banner of Islam there are very different politics: democratic politics, the far right, left, central, all over. You can't target a whole community for what one or two people have done.

"What they've done in London is for their own reasons but there's no reasoning behind it from an Islamic point of view."

Imam Abib Salik, who appeared on ITV's Daybreak programme, told the presenters, "What it really symbolises is the fact that many of the supporters said that the views of certain groups like the EDL are not the views of everyone and at the same time we said the actions of certain individuals are not representative of the Muslim community as a whole."