Children’s Harry Potter book festival event is cancelled over JK Rowling transphobia row after discussions with the LGBTQ community

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Last night Toby Young, founder of the Free Speech Union, which is due to open its first branch in New Zealand next week, said: “J. K. Rowling is one of Britain’s most influential and respectable contemporary writers. This is why the decision by the Wairarapa book festival to cancel a children’s Harry Potter quiz because of comments J. K. Rowling made during an important debate on women’s only spaces is chilling. If the creator of our most successful export since James Bond can be declared persona non grata, anyone can.”

Sanchez Manning, The Mail on Sunday, 2nd May 2021.

“Disruptive and Dangerous” Priti Patel slams Extinction Rebellion activists who blocked printing presses as they are cleared due to a technicality

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Free Speech Union general secretary Toby Young said the verdict “sets a dangerous precedent”. He said: “It sends a message to other political activists they they can muzzle the free Press without suffering the consequences.”

Ben Hill, The Scottish Sun, 29th April 2021.

“White Saviour” Isaac Newton Benefited from “Colonial-Era Activity”, Claims University: Report

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The general secretary of the Free Speech Union, Toby Young, added: “Newton famously said, ‘If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.’ Everyone studying maths or engineering deserves to stand on Newton’s shoulders so they, too, can see further, regardless of their ethnicity.”

Kurt Zindulka, Breitbart, 26th April 2021.

Priti Patel must tread carefully when lecturing police on hate crime

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Following a concerted campaign from, among others, Fair Cop and the Free Speech Union, Priti Patel on Saturday let it be known that in her view this would not do. She would be pressing the College to revise its guidance and drop the official recording of any incident that did not in fact amount to an offence. She clearly meant business: as a Home Office source put it, presumably with her blessing, “if people are found to have done nothing wrong, the police shouldn’t punish them.”

Andrew Tettenborn, The Spectator, 26th April 2021.

Free speech needs a law: Face the problem as it is — the modern academy is running on different train-tracks to liberal humanist thinking

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The Free Speech Union, of which I’m the Chief Legal Counsel, assists many young university students who are punished for having opinions not to the taste of those with power and the unscrupulousness to abuse it. To be fair, some university administrators are well-meaning but misguided. It is certain too that many administrators are simply terrified witless — disregard a claim that someone, somewhere is offended, and who knows what denunciation may follow?

Bryn Harris, The Critic, 25th April 2021.

Priti Patel calls on police chiefs to wipe “non-crime hate incidents” from people’s records amid fears they could ruin their career prospects

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Meanwhile The Free Speech Union also criticised the the policy. Toby Young, General Secretary of the FSU, said: “Non-Crime Hate Incidents are an invention of the College of Policing, an unelected body”.

Shari Miller, MailOnline, 25th April 2021.

Terror law will be used for woke agenda and stop freedom of speech, says report

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The Free Speech Union (FSU) founded by journalist Toby Young has warned that the government’s Digital Harms Bill is “a serious threat” to journalists, online debate and discussions. It also hands sweeping new powers to the watchdog Ofcom which has already raised alarms this year by significantly expanding its definition of hate speech to include offence to transgender groups and other controversial areas where people may be offended.

David Maddox, The Daily Express, 24th April 2021.

Issue of the day: Is the word “mother” biased?

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Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, told the BBC that the university has “wasted time and money” teaching staff how to “speak woke-ish”.

Maureen Sugden, The Hearld, 17th April 2021.

The Online Safety Bill is an assault on free speech

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The Free Speech Union has been monitoring the progress of the bill since it was first run up the flagpole and we are glad to see some recent improvements to it. Nonetheless, without major changes, it will still mean lawful online speech will end up being censored.

Radomir Tylecote, Spiked, 13th April 2021.

Children are warned old tweets could ruin their lives: Backlash as it is revealed police are recording thousands of historic social media posts as non-crime “hate incidents”

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Toby Young, General Secretary of the FSU, said: “Non-Crime Hate Incidents are an invention of the College of Policing, an unelected body. They have never been approved by Parliament, there is no legal threshold or independent evidentiary test applied to them and members of the public have no right of appeal against them. Indeed, a member of the public can have a Non-Crime Hate Incident recorded against their name without ever being informed of the fact. Mr Young concluded: “It is time we did away with this Orwellian practice that has little or no basis in law and is used in a highly subjective fashion as we saw in the Harry Miller case. The recording of these non-crimes on people’s police records has a chilling effect on free speech.”

James Robinson, MailOnline, 6th April 2021.

In the Media

Articles That Mention the Free Speech Union

Children’s Harry Potter book festival event is cancelled over JK Rowling transphobia row after discussions with the LGBTQ community

“Disruptive and Dangerous” Priti Patel slams Extinction Rebellion activists who blocked printing presses as they are cleared due to a technicality

“White Saviour” Isaac Newton Benefited from “Colonial-Era Activity”, Claims University: Report

Priti Patel must tread carefully when lecturing police on hate crime

Free speech needs a law: Face the problem as it is — the modern academy is running on different train-tracks to liberal humanist thinking

Priti Patel calls on police chiefs to wipe “non-crime hate incidents” from people’s records amid fears they could ruin their career prospects

Terror law will be used for woke agenda and stop freedom of speech, says report

Issue of the day: Is the word “mother” biased?

The Online Safety Bill is an assault on free speech

Children are warned old tweets could ruin their lives: Backlash as it is revealed police are recording thousands of historic social media posts as non-crime “hate incidents”

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