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In the Media

Articles That Mention the Free Speech Union

Newcastle United fan banned over gender tweets launches legal action against club

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She is being helped in her legal action by the Free Speech Union, which helped to organise the crowdfunding campaign. Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, said: “For Newcastle to punish a fan for saying she thinks sex is biological and immutable — a view 99 per cent of their fans and 100 per cent of the club’s owners agree with — is a grotesque interference in free speech. Jill Levene, legal counsel of the Free Speech Union, said: “Linzi expressed her legally protected gender-critical beliefs and as a result found herself investigated by the police and the Premier League, and banned by her beloved football club. No service provider or membership association should wield such power and the purpose of legal action is to ensure that she is duly compensated for the infringement of her rights under the Equality Act and the Data Protection Act, and the harm she has suffered as a result.”

Gordon Rayner, The Telegraph, 27th April 2024.

Even Orwell’s Thought Police didn’t go as far as Trudeau

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You’d assume the reaction to the SNP’s new hate crime laws would make other authoritarian governments hesitate before introducing similar legislation. Humza Yousaf has become a laughing stock and his approval ratings have fallen by 15 points. But apparently not. The new Irish Taoiseach, Simon Harris, is determined to railroad through the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill, Donald Tusk’s government in Poland wants to introduce a new law that would make it a criminal offence to ‘defame’ a member of the LGBT community and Justin Trudeau is pressing ahead with an Online Harms Bill that makes our own Online Safety Act seem like the First Amendment. It’s as if all these ‘liberal’ leaders are saying: ‘You think Humza Yousaf is the West’s foremost opponent of free speech? Hold my beer.’

Toby Young, The Spectator, 20th April 2024.

I’m a woman of colour. DEI is just woke indoctrination

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According to a report by the Free Speech Union published in March, 36% of employees witnessed colleagues being penalised for challenging Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training. 31% stated leaving a job because of their employer’s promotion of ideology. Sharing the findings, Thomas Harris, Director of Data and Impact stated: “There is no evidence the current approach is making Britain’s offices more welcoming, friendlier places to work, and plenty of evidence that it is turning them into a hostile environment, particularly for minorities and those who do not subscribe to woke ideology.”

Raquel Rosario Sánchez, The Telegraph, 19th April 2024.

Free speech victory as councils shelve ‘busybody charters’

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The Free Speech Union (FSU) has analysed the PSPOs of 15 local authorities around the country, and says it has found numerous examples of overreach. In some cases, they have written to councils to threaten judicial review. Bryn Harris, the FSU’s chief legal counsel, said the use of PSPOs – known to their critics as “busybody charters” – has become “out of control”.

Camilla Turner, The Telegraph, 13th April 2024.

My father’s greatest act of kindness

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I’ve been busy planning a trip to New Zealand and Australia. I’ll be gone for about five weeks from mid-June, which is by some distance the longest holiday I’ve ever had. Except it won’t be a holiday, since I’ll be spending quite a bit of time raising money for the Free Speech Union’s sister organisations in the Antipodes. There will be dinners to attend, events to speak at, hands to shake. But I’ve also built in some down time, which will be an opportunity to do some sightseeing.

Toby Young, The Spectator, 13th April 2024.

The Farcical First Week of Scotland’s ‘Hate Crime’ LawSentences – Copy

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All the farce has prompted Toby Young’s Free Speech Union to launch a hotline for anyone arrested or contacted by the police under Scotland’s hate crime law. The Union says it has attracted 1,000 new Scottish members in recent weeks, showing that as amusing as the legislation’s failures may be, serious fears persist around its ability to do genuine harm.

Michael Curzon, The European Conservative, 9th April 2024.

Free speech in free fall

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This leaves the cause of free speech, in all its ugliness and chaos, a rather lonely one. Its two most reliable defenders are the Free Speech Union, set up by journalist and school-founder Toby Young – a victim of multiple attempts at left-wing cancellation for his views – and the libertarians at Spiked Online.

Fred de Fossard, The Critic, 9th April 2024.

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