A/56/253 religious dress and dismissing workers for expressing a religious identity at work) are therefore useful examples of the issues we are identifying to examine whether they should be within the scope of this work. “The Directive represents an important step forward in combating such discrimination and will ensure that employment opportunities across Europe are not denied to individuals on the basis of their faith. “Media incitement of hostility against Muslims “Regulation of the press. Newspapers and periodicals remain wholly independent of the Government. The responsibility to decide what, and what not, to publish, subject to the general law, is theirs. The Government believes that a free press is a cornerstone of democracy and as such does not wish to control the editorial content of newspapers or magazines. For this reason, the Government has no plans to introduce legislation to regulate the press. “Newspapers operate a system of self-regulation through the Press Complaints Commission (PCC), which is an independent body set up by the newspaper industry to ensure that British newspapers and magazines follow the industry’s code of practice. The Code includes provisions on discrimination and requires that all members of the press have a duty to uphold the highest ethical standards. The Government believes that self-regulation is working. The Government expects the press to abide by the rules and commitments enshrined in the PCC’s Code of Practice, and continues to monitor alleged press abuses and the PCC’s handling of them. “Television. Under the United Kingdom’s Broadcasting Act 1990, licensed services are required to observe the following: “(a) That nothing is included in its programmes that offends against good taste or decency or is likely to encourage or incite to crime or to lead to disorder or to be offensive to public feeling; “(b) That due impartiality is exercised with respect to the contents of any of its programmes that are religious programmes and that in particular any such programmes do not involve: “(i) Any improper exploitation of any susceptibilities of those watching the programme; or “(ii) Any abusive treatment of the religious views and beliefs of those belonging to a particular religion or religious denomination. “The BBC’s Producers’ Guidelines on the portrayal of religious groups states that people and countries should not be defined by their religions unless it is strictly relevant and that thoughtless portrayal can be offensive, especially if it implies that a particular faith is hostile or alien to all outside it. For example, footage of chanting crowds of Islamic activists should not be used to illustrate the whole Muslim world. “The Guidelines also state that words such as ‘fundamentalist’, ‘militant’ and ‘Islamist’ should be used with great care. 68