← Back to News · Archive
The state of free speech in Northern Ireland
23 January 2024
It was great to hear our Education and Events Director, Dr Jan Macvarish, on Andrew Doyle's Free Speech Nation show at the weekend, discussing the state of free speech in Northern Ireland, and why our Belfast Speakeasy this Friday (26th Jan) is so important.
https://twitter.com/GBNEWS/status/1749166409001680965
As Jan says, we've already sold 150 tickets for this event, but there are still some left and we'd love to see you there — click here to book your tickets.
Expert panel includes: FSU General Secretary Toby Young, the author and psychotherapist Stella O'Malley, journalists David Quinn and Ella Whelan, and the former Ulster Unionist Party politician and gay rights campaigner Jeffrey Dudgeon MBE.
Safe to say, the panel won't be short of things to talk about.
Northern Ireland now boasts one of the most draconian proposed hate crime laws in the UK, which has serious potential implications for free speech.
Queen's University Belfast recently ordered every single person who sets foot on campus to comply with using a person's preferred pronouns or face punishment under its newly revised code of conduct.
And since September, the newly enacted Northern Ireland Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act has clipped the wings of the free press, handing the judiciary power to decide what bits of modern history or recent news regarding reports of serious sexual misconduct it is in the public interest in the public interest for ordinary citizens to read about.
Worried about how free speech laws work — or don't — in Northern Ireland?
The FSU monitors and defends free expression across the UK, including where legal protections are most fragile. Join 40,000+ members. From £29.99/year.
Join the FSU Today