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In the Media

Articles That Mention the Free Speech Union

Mother-of-two law student, 29, is cleared of misconduct by university after saying “women have vaginas” during seminar on transgender issues

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Toby Young, General Secretary of the Free Speech Union, a campaign group which supported Ms Keogh throughout the process, said:  “I’m delighted that the complaints against Lisa have been dismissed, but the University should not have taken two months to reach this conclusion. It should have been obvious that the complaints against her were due to her gender critical views, not the manner in which she expressed them. In a seminar on gender, feminism and the law there should be room for a range of views, from militant trans activism to traditional feminism. Lisa deserves a huge amount of credit for standing up for herself. The path of least resistance would have been to apologise and renounce her heretical belief, but instead she fought her corner. Thanks to her courage, there is now space for a broader range of views at Abertay – it is no longer taboo to defend sex-based women’s rights.”

James Robinson, MailOnline, 9th June 2021.

We are NOT racist, say England fans: Supporters blasted over booing of footballers for taking the knee say “original message” of anti-racism gesture has been lost

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The Free Speech Union told MailOnline: ‘If the FA is going to defend the right of the players to take the knee, it ought to defend the right of the fans to respond as they see fit, whether by booing or applauding. It cannot be free speech for the players but not for the fans. For the FA to say that the gesture has no connection with BLM and is simply an expression of support for the moral cause of anti-racism is naive. For the last five years, the gesture has been an expression of solidarity for Black Lives Matter, a neo-Marxist political movement that wants to dismantle the nuclear family, defund the police and end capitalism. If the England players want to take a stand against racism, all power to them, but why not do so with a less inflammatory gesture, such as standing in a circle and linking arms? If they did that, I doubt a single fan would boo.”

James Gant, MailOnline, 8th June 2021.

Leading universities are accused of stifling free speech by using computer software that allows students to make anonymous “microaggression” reports against tutors – such as telling someone to “cheer up”

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Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, wrote to Cambridge University chiefs, claiming the website “proposed a system of policing speech and everyday interaction”. Slamming the list of “micro-aggressions”, Mr Young of FSU said the slights make no “allowance for the fact that, in many cases, taking offence as such behaviour would be unreasonable”. He continued: “These are all situations which may arise wholly innocently, through misunderstanding, a breakdown in communication, or a simple error.”

Jemma Carr, MailOnline, 5th June 2021.

Victory for free speech as University of Edinburgh throws out complaints against professor branded “racist and problematic” by woke students after he criticised move to rename tower honouring philosopher David Hume over his links to slavery

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Toby Young, of the Free Speech Union, previously said: “For the university to publicly shame Dr Thin because he dared to speak out against the excesses of a powerful hard-Left cabal is reminiscent of the ‘struggle sessions’ that distinguished scholars were subjected to during China’s Cultural Revolution.”

Graham Grant, The Scottish Daily Mail, 3rd June 2021.

Fighting back against the censors

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Most significantly, a new organisation, the Free Speech Union (FSU), formed in February 2020 to give advice and legal support to “anyone who feels their speech rights are under threat.” One of the FSU’s most dramatic victories concerned its member Nick Buckley, the founder of the charity Mancunian Way, which works with vulnerable young people in Manchester. When Buckley wrote a blogpost raising concerns about the “neo-Marxist” influences on Black Lives Matter, his long record of service (which has earned him an MBE) counted for nothing: 465 people signed a petition demanding his removal, and the charity’s trustees removed him from his position. In response, the FSU started a counter-petition which gained 17,500 signatures, and found Buckley a lawyer specialising in charity law. Within weeks Buckley was reinstated and the trustees had all resigned.”

Dan Hitchens, The Critic, June 2021.

King’s College apologises for email with Prince Philip photo after staff outraged over duke’s “history of racism”

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Toby Young of the Free Speech Union called it an “irony”, saying that if it was not for people like Prince Philip, who put their lives on the line to defend liberty and democracy, the lecturers’ at the “university wouldn’t now enjoy the freedom to attack people like him. When a war hero dies, shouldn’t these republican firebrands just say, “Thank you for your service”, and save the political point-scoring for another day?”

Shweta Sharma, The Independent, 31st May 2021.

University apologises for sending a photo of “racist, sexist” Prince Philip in email after a wave of protest from Left-wing staff

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Toby Young, of the Free Speech Union, added: “The irony is that if it wasn’t for people like Prince Philip putting their lives on the line to defend liberty and democracy, university lecturers wouldn’t now enjoy the freedom to attack people like him. When a war hero dies, shouldn’t these republican firebrands just say “Thank you for your service”, and save the political point-scoring for another day?”

Michael Powell, The Mail on Sunday, 29th May 2021.

Cambridge dons raise free speech fears over new university website that allows students to anonymously report lecturers for ‘micro-aggressions’ like turning their back or raising an eyebrow

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Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, wrote to Cambridge University chiefs, claiming the website “proposed a system of policing speech and everyday interaction”. Slamming the list of “micro-aggressions”, Mr Young of FSU said the slights make no “allowance for the fact that, in many cases, taking offence as such behaviour would be unreasonable”. He continued: “These are all situations which may arise wholly innocently, through misunderstanding, a breakdown in communication, or a simple error.” Vice-chancellor Professor Stephen Toope is also said to be facing a legal challenge from FSU over the contents of the website. The group has also promised a judicial review if something similar is reproduced by the academic institution.

Jacob Thorburn, MailOnline, 26th May 2021.

In praise of the Batley binmen

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Thankfully, there are still people, like those Bury binmen – and of course like the Free Speech Union – who understand that no one has the right not to be offended. Who understand that freedom of expression is more important than any individual’s feelings or any religion’s diktats?

Brendan O’Neill, The Spectator, 24th May 2021.

Cambridge removes website where dons can be reported for “raising an eyebrow”

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Toby Young, general secretary of the FSU, wrote to the vice-Chancellor claiming that the website and policy “proposed a system of policing speech and everyday interaction” which would be “inconsistent” with its duty to uphold free speech. He pointed out that section 43 of the Education Act 1986 requires universities to take reasonably practical steps to secure freedom of speech within the law for employees. “This policy, as you must be aware, would radically interfere with how your academics teach, argue with and learn from students, as well as how students interact with each other,” Mr Young said. “It would mean academics and students were under constant threat of being reported and investigated for having committed some wholly innocent but perceived slight, which would inevitably have a chilling effect on interactions that, in a university, should be free and unguarded.” Mr Young added that should the policy reappear in anything like its original form, the FSU would “seek to challenge its lawfulness in the High Court”.

Camilla Turner and Pravina Rudra, The Telegraph, 24th May 2021.

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