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Joanna Cherry, the SNP MP and QC, Jenny Lindsay, the award-winning poet, Lindsay Paterson, a professor of education policy, and Murdo Fraser MSP, the former deputy leader of the Scottish Conservatives, have given their support to the Free Speech Union Scotland, which will launch later this month.
Marc Horne, The Times, 12th April 2022.
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In an interview for news website Christian Today, Toby Young, Founder of The Free Speech Union (FSU), said the “short and medium-term prognosis” for Christian freedom of expression under the Bill “isn’t good”. He said this is because some traditional Christian views are already considered “offensive, or even ‘hate speech’”, and that the proposed legislation would make this worse.
Giles Lambert, The Christian Institute, 12th April 2022.
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FSU General Secretary Toby Young released a statement expressing concern that the proposed legislation, if passed, could be abused by political activists to silence dissenting views. “We are particularly concerned that the government has said it will force social media platforms to remove ‘legal but harmful’ content, including ‘harassment,’” stated Young.
Michael Gryboski, Christian Post, 6th April 2022.
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Christian Today spoke to Young about the particular free speech challenges facing biblically orthodox Christians.
Julian Mann, Christian Today, 4th April 2022.
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At the Free Speech Union, where I am deputy research director, we see countless cases where people have been punished by employers or regulators simply for having different views. This shows the extent to which our right to free expression is being eroded on a daily basis.
Emma Webb, Spiked, 3rd April 2022.
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Following the inquiry, Toby Young, the General Secretary of the Free Speech Union, wrote a letter to David Isaac, saying that “the College’s uncritical acceptance of claims that the conference harmed students was a serious error. In keeping with, as you put it yourself, your own and the College’s commitment to freedom of speech, the College should have investigated and faced down students’ ill-founded complaints. No higher education institution should apologise for free speech.”
Estelle Atkinson, Cherwell, 25th March 2022.
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The Online Safety Bill has been laid before Parliament. Ministers, including Nadine Dorries last week, have worked hard to persuade voters that the Bill contains important safeguards for free speech online. Are they right?
Dr Bryn Harris, Conservative Home, 22nd March 2022.
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The Free Speech Union has now written to Mr Isaac calling for him to apologise and to reinstate the booking for the next Wilberforce Academy conference in September. In the letter, seen by The Telegraph, Toby Young says the “uncritical acceptance of claims that the conference harmed students was a serious error. The College should have investigated and faced down students’ ill-founded complaints. No higher education institution should apologise for free speech,” wrote Mr Young, the union’s general secretary. He added: “You do not need reminding that refusing to provide the College’s services because of Christian Concern’s religious beliefs would constitute unlawful discrimination. We continue to stand by Christian Concern and will provide whatever legal and financial assistance we deem appropriate should this matter escalate.”
Hayley Dixon, The Telegraph, 20th March 2022.
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Free Speech Union chief Toby Young has written to both the university’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Shearer West, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The correspondence, seen by The Mail on Sunday, suggests that Dr Sewell, who runs a charity helping black children get into higher education, had been sidelined as he “voiced views which, in the minds of some, black people ought not to hold”. Mr Young pointed to a number of people given honorary degrees by Nottingham despite being mired in controversy. They included King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand – “despite his alleged collusion with far-Right militias” – Liu Xiaoming, China’s former UK ambassador who “dismissed reports of Uighur camps as fake news”, and ex-Malaysian prime minister and convicted money launderer Najib Razak.
Georgia Edkins, The Mail On Sunday, 20th March 2022.
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By the time you read this the new draft of the Online Safety Bill should be on the DCMS website. I haven’t seen it yet, but I have a pretty good idea of what’s in it because I’m one of dozens who’ve been urging ministers and officials behind the scenes to strengthen the free speech protections in the bill. For those not up to speed, the aim of the bill (in the words of Nadine Dorries, the Secretary of State at DCMS) is ‘to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online’, i.e., turn the internet into a safe space.
Toby Young, The Spectator, 19th March 2022.
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