In a hundred years they may well look back at this judgement they may do so with a level of embarrassment.

A complaint made against the Sun newspaper in which the columnist ended by stating "What we will do about The Muslim Problem then?" has been dismissed by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).

In the article by Trevor Kavanagh it was claimed that there was “one unspoken fear, gagged by political correctness, which links Britain and the rest of Europe. The common denominator, almost unsayable until last week’s furore over Pakistani sex gangs, is Islam”.

The article claimed that “thanks to former equalities chief Trevor Phillips, and Labour MPs such as Rotherham’s Sarah Champion, it is acceptable to say Muslims are a specific rather than a cultural problem”.

According to IPSO "The newspaper said that the Code protects individuals from discrimination on the basis of their religion, but does not prevent criticism of religion or groups.

"It strongly denied that the use of the phrase “The Muslim Problem”, to identify a problem with the Muslim male attitude towards white women, reflected the use of the phrase “The Jewish Problem” in 1930s Germany.

"It noted that the columnist had written a further column, which it said addressed many of the issues raised in the complaint. In this further column, the columnist said “I can honestly say it never occurred to me that this could be interpreted as a play on the Jewish Problem and I will happily apologise to anyone who is thus offended”.

The complaint was not upheld.

In its ruling it said, "The Committee acknowledged that the question posed at the end of the column – “What will we do about The Muslim Problem then” – was capable of causing serious offence, given it could be interpreted as a reference to the rhetoric preceding the Holocaust.

"The Committee made clear that there is no clause in the Editors’ Code which prohibits publication of offensive content. It was clear that many, including the complainant, were offended by this aspect of the article, but there was no breach of the Code on this point."

Kavanagh who also sits as a director on IPSO's board but was not involved in the ruling said the press regulator.