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However, following a complaint from the Free Speech Union that the policy treated ‘members of one racial group less favourably’, the theatre ordered a review.
Lara Olszowska, MailOnline, 8th June 2025.
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The news has sparked fury with free speech activists, including Toby Young, head of the Free Speech Union.
In a letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, he writes: “Now that ‘cultural nationalism’ has been classified as a subcategory of extreme right-wing terrorist ideology, even mainstream, right-of-centre beliefs risk being treated as ideologically suspect, despite falling well within the bounds of lawful expression.”
Kate Ferguson, The Sun, 7th June 2025.
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Lord Young of Acton, the general-secretary of the Free Speech Union, has written to Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, urging her to reconsider the classification, arguing it was a “matter of serious concern” for free speech.
In a letter to Cooper, Lord Young said: “While not defined in law, nor subject to statutory constraint, the definition in the training course expands the scope of suspicion to include individuals whose views are entirely lawful but politically controversial. Now that ‘cultural nationalism’ has been classified as a subcategory of extreme right-wing terrorist ideology, even mainstream, right-of-centre beliefs risk being treated as ideologically suspect, despite falling well within the bounds of lawful expression.”
Charlie Moloney, The Times, 6th June 2025.
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Lord Young, the general secretary of the Free Speech Union (FSU) said: ‘The definition in the training course expands the scope of suspicion to include individuals whose views are entirely lawful but politically controversial.
‘Now that ‘cultural nationalism’ has been classified as a subcategory of extreme Right-wing terrorist ideology, even mainstream, Right-of-centre beliefs risk being treated as ideologically suspect, despite falling well within the bounds of lawful expression.’
Noor Qurashi, MailOnline, 6th June 2025.
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Despite the generous and committed support of the National Secular Society and the Free Speech Union, Hamit Coskun has been found guilty. This must not stand. Laws should not be created by the CPS and the judiciary defying the explicit will of parliament. It was the work of centuries to build a society in which men and women could speak freely, and not live in fear of criminal punishment if they offended other people’s religious beliefs. We must guard that society with fierce purpose and utterly oppose those who would threaten it.
David Shipley, The Spectator, 2nd June 2025.
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In a statement issued through the Free Speech Union (FSU), Coskun said: “This decision is an assault on free speech and will deter others from exercising their democratic rights to peaceful protest and freedom of expression.
Ben Ellery, The Times, 2nd June 2025.
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The Free Speech Union and the National Secular Society have paid for Mr Coskun’s legal fees and his private security.
Abul Taher and Ian Gallagher, Daily Mail, 1st June 2025.
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The FSU simply pointed out that colour, nationality and ethnic origin are protected characteristics, so only making white employees attend is in breach of the Equality Act. The theatre’s leadership gulped, hastily ordered a review and promised not to censure anybody for opting out. It adds defensively that anti-oppression training is increasingly provided in UK organisations, and indeed it is, from universities, publishers and quangos to commerce and the ever-anxious BBC. We’ll come to that.
Libby Purves, The Times, 1st June 2025.
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The Free Speech Union has reported the NTS to the UK equalities watchdog because the Equality Act prohibits employers from treating staff differently based on the protected characteristic of race, which includes skin colour, nationality and ethnic origin. Young welcomed confirmation that the training will be fully inclusive but condemned Wylie’s effort to distance the national theatre from the row.
Mark McLaughlin, The Times, 29th May 2025.
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Ahead of his trial, in a quote released through the Free Speech Union, he said: ‘Encountering such treatment in a country like England, which I truly believed to be a place where freedom prevailed, was a real shock to me.’ His legal fees are being paid for by the Free Speech Union and the National Secular Society (NSS), who say they are defending them because they believe ‘no one should be compelled to observe the blasphemy codes of any religion, whether Christian or Muslim.’
Sarah Hooper, Metro, 28th May 2025.
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