A global index of the right of expression puts us below Chile, Jamaica and most Western European states. Writing for the Telegraph, Labour MP Graham Stringer says he is “shocked and embarrassed”. He continues:
The UK is now ranked only in the third tier on a global index of freedom of expression due to what is described as the “chilling effect” of government policies, policing and the intimidation of journalists.
Chile, Jamaica and virtually every other Western European state are ranked above us in the list compiled by the advocacy group Index on Censorship.
As a parliamentarian, I am both shocked and embarrassed by this. How has this sad state of affairs come about and what can we do about it?
The police have enthusiastically embraced the recording of non-crime hate incidents. Non-crime incidents have never been required by Parliament in legislation and it is certainly not a crime to make somebody feel uncomfortable.
In this category, the police have interviewed people for tweeting feminist songs and not allowing a guide dog into a shop. If only Orwell was alive today…
Universities cannot function effectively without free speech yet there have been a number of appalling incidents representing a decline in academic freedom.
For instance, Prof Kathleen Stock was hounded out of her job at Sussex University for stating a simple biological fact that men cannot become women and vice versa. Academics and invited speakers have been cancelled.
In contrast to the police’s enthusiasm for non-crime hate incidents, compare the lack of action and interest in pursuing the Muslim extremists who forced a religious education teacher at Batley Grammar School in West Yorkshire to go into hiding in fear of his life after giving a lesson with a visual depiction of the prophet Mohammed.
Threatening a person’s life is unlawful, producing pictures of the prophet Mohammed is not.
Free speech and the freedom of the press are fundamental to our democracy, yet parliamentarians have had inappropriate and intimidating interviews by the police.
Free elections and free speech are necessary but not a sufficient condition for a healthy democracy.
Scrutiny by journalists in the Fourth Estate is vital. If The Telegraph hadn’t published MPs’ expenses, the theft of public money and the abuse of position would almost certainly have gone unrecognised.
Watching friends and acquaintances being prosecuted and sent to prison was an uncomfortable period for all MPs, however clean their record, but this painful exercise has definitely improved the accountability of MPs.
Having this understanding of the importance of the press I was incensed by the “Stasi-like” intrusion into the home of Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson on Remembrance Sunday of all days. This is why I raised the matter at Prime Minister’s Questions.
I don’t know why the police are in effect pushing the boundaries of free speech back, but they are.
Although my free speech rights in the chamber are guaranteed, the rest of the citizenry’s rights are dependent on Common Law and the limits are more flexible.
I am pleased to see that the exposure to discussion in the Commons seems to have helped persuade the police to withdraw their action.
I am sure the public want them to deal with real crime and not thought crime. After all, the clear-up rates on shoplifting and burglary are pitifully low.
In the aftermath of the Commons question, some Telegraph readers and others expressed surprise that a Labour MP would raise the issue of free speech and freedom of the press. I understand why.
This government’s record by not implementing the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act is not as good as it should be and some people on the Left claim an unjustified moral superiority over people from a different part of the political spectrum.
This sadly leads to a soft kind of authoritarianism. In my view, the Left should always value freedom, free speech and freedom of the press because there are times when these are the only weapons the poor have to fight injustice.
Worth reading in full.
