BOLTON MP Yasmin Qureshi has blasted newspaper The Times for an “appalling” headline it used on a story about the murder of a former Imam in Rochdale.

The paper ran a story about the death of 64-year-old Jalal Uddin who was found dead in a children’s play area on Thursday evening after suffering a serious head injury.

In a report about the incident, The Times used the headline “Imam beaten to death in sex grooming town.”

The newspaper has received a lot of criticism for the headline — which it later changed to “Imam beaten to death in Rochdale.”

Greater Manchester Police’s chief constable Ian Hopkins has written an open letter to the newspaper’s editor, explaining the “outrage” the wording caused in the local community and requesting an apology.

He added: "The headline has no relevance to the horrific murder of a former imam in Rochdale.

​“Your headline and its irrelevance to this case has the potential to cause community tension.

“It is also offensive to the thousands of peaceful, law-abiding Muslims and non-Muslims living in Rochdale, who are shocked by this murder.”

Bolton South East MP Ms Qureshi, who has previously stated her opposition to how Muslims are often portrayed in the national press, backed the chief constable.

Posting a link to the letter on social media, she added: “Important letter to Times editor on its appalling headline on the brutal and horrific murder of an Imam in Rochdale.”

Police are still investigating the circumstances of Mr Uddin’s death.