THE magistrate at the centre of the Muslim veil row has admitted he would now do things differently - but says a similar culture clash could happen again.

Ian Murray, of Bath Crescent, Cheadle Hulme, walked out of court when confronted with niqab-wearing Zoobia Hussain, saying her face-covering head dress raised identity issues.

He was given a formal reprimand and training on ‘appropriate judicial guidelines’ before making a complaint on the way the probe into his actions was handled.

This week, following the ombudsman finding that this investigation was correctly conducted, Mr Murray has explained his stance and why the potential is there for other such incidents.

He said: "I feel the way courts are going, dealing with a wide variety of people, there is a huge change in the type of case and person that is coming before the courts. It is more multi-cultural and I wouldn’t have it any other way. But it has to be fair and level for everyone. That is why I made a weighted decision."

Mr Murray, who is also a taxi driver, added that he felt Miss Hussain’s dress may mean that she did not get a fair trial.

He said: "We have all learned lessons from this, it has been an eye-opener. I would have done things differently, I would have spelt things out and absolutely kept to the guide lines. They are very open to interpretion and I interpreted them incorrectly."

Mr Murray returned to the bench after an absence of six months in February. He has been a magistrate for 12 years, but had to have additional refresher training upon his return to familiarise himself with new acts that had been passed in his absence.

The process that saw him reprimanded was what Mr Murray had questioned and despite a review not finding in his favour he accepts its decision.

Mr Murray said: "It’s time to move on. I accept the decision and just want to get back to how things were before. I feel I now have closure."