Religious freedom and blasphemy
The Free Speech Union has covered 104 stories on this topic. Browse our coverage below.
24 September 2026
Muslim activists attempt to cancel John Cleese over 'Islamophobia'
An activist group tried to have John Cleese's Birmingham show cancelled over his criticism of Islamism — but the show went ahead as planned, amid warnings that similar demands could follow him around the country.
22 September 2026
Angela Rayner's office begins investigation into Islamophobia definition cover-up
MHCLG has launched an internal review after admitting it deleted all consultation responses used to draft the Government's Islamophobia definition, following FOI requests by Nick Timothy MP and FSU research into the Working Group's Islamist links.
22 September 2026
Rupert Lowe reported to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards for speaking about Islam, Muslims and Pakistanis
Rupert Lowe MP has been reported to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards over his comments on Islam, Muslims and the grooming gangs scandal — the latest sign that the Government's "anti-Muslim hostility" definition is being used to silence legitimate debate.
7 September 2026
Rayner's office accused of breaching Ministerial Code over deleted Islamophobia definition evidence
A Freedom of Information request has revealed that Angela Rayner's department deleted all consultation responses used to draft the Islamophobia definition, prompting accusations of a Ministerial Code breach.
24 August 2026
New poll shows more than half of Britons believe free speech is more restricted under Labour
A new Liberty poll finds that 51 per cent of Britons believe free speech has been eroded under two years of Labour government. The FSU backs Liberty's call for a consistent, non-partisan approach to speech laws.
24 August 2026
Labour Government lobbied Equality and Human Rights Commission to adopt Islamophobia definition
The FSU's warnings about the Government's Islamophobia definition have been vindicated, as leaked details reveal deleted consultation responses and pressure on the EHRC to adopt a definition it considers unworkable.
19 August 2026
FSU helps ex-police officer Stephen Gray appeal conviction for joke about Muhammad
A retired police officer fined for reposting a joke about Islam is appealing his conviction with FSU backing, in what campaigners say is the latest sign of a de facto blasphemy law protecting Islam alone.
19 August 2026
The Green Party is on a warpath with the media as it unleashes a censorship policy blitz
The Green Party is pushing a raft of censorious proposals — from state press regulation to a £1 billion 'Independent Media Commons' — as leader Zack Polanski calls for the press to be "sorted out".
14 August 2026
Ofcom launches investigation into GB News after Catholic guest says Pride celebrates 'bizarre and unhealthy kinks'
Ofcom is investigating GB News after Catholic commentator Caroline Farrow linked Pride to paedophilia and bestiality during a broadcast, prompting over 12,000 complaints.
10 August 2026
Government department deletes all responses to consultation for the official Islamophobia definition
A Freedom of Information request reveals that the Government deleted all consultation responses submitted to the Working Group behind its Islamophobia definition — the same definition the FSU warned would chill free speech and which has already been used to silence legitimate criticism of Islam.
7 August 2026
New FSU Podcast: Andrew Doyle and Lord Young on new Orwellian proposals from Government advisors to tackle "misinformation"
Andrew Doyle joins Lord Young on the FSU Podcast to dissect a government-commissioned report on "misinformation" — and its Orwellian proposals to steer public opinion.
3 August 2026
Allison Pearson has received an apology and payout from Essex's Police and Crime Commissioner
Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson has received a public apology and a reported five-figure payout from Essex's Police and Crime Commissioner, Roger Hirst, after the High Court found his comments about her could be seen as defamatory.
23 July 2026
The Government has commissioned a dystopian instruction manual: it takes the war on "misinformation" to the next level
A new Government-commissioned report brands scepticism of gender ideology as 'misinformation' worthy of state suppression, while barely mentioning the anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that have fuelled real hatred since 7 October — prompting warnings from the FSU's Lord Young that Britain risks turning Orwell's fiction into policy.
22 July 2026
Member testimonial: Professor Michael Rainsborough on holding King's College London to account
Professor Michael Rainsborough, former Head of War Studies at King's College London, explains how the FSU helped him expose the university's neglect of academic freedom.
17 July 2026
Major policing reforms delayed until Autumn as Labour changes its leader
The Government has delayed publication of Lord Macdonald's landmark review of public order and hate crime law until the Autumn, blaming the transition from Keir Starmer to Andy Burnham — leaving police forces and protestors in continued confusion.
30 June 2026
Government brings forward conversion therapy ban which will criminalise parents, therapists and religious leaders for speaking with gender-confused children
The Government has brought forward a draft bill to ban conversion therapy practices that is so broad it could criminalise the teachings of religious leaders and the well-intentioned conversations between parents, therapists, and gender-confused children. The Free Speech Union has launched a petition calling on Prime Minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham to drop this assault on free speech.
20 May 2026
Investigation into Christian street preacher dropped
Avon and Somerset Police drop investigation into Christian street preacher who is backed by the White House. Dia Moodley describes it as a "win for free speech", but he should never have been arrested in the first place.
11 May 2026
An opera has been cancelled by Minack Theatre after a single complaint over cultural insensitivity
Minack Theatre has pulled a production of Lakmé after a US-based Hindu campaigner called it "deeply problematic". The complainant has called for the president and artistic director of Surrey Opera to apologise and undergo "cultural sensitivity training".
13 April 2026
NHS nurse who called trans paedophile prisoner ‘Mr’ wins settlement
Jennifer Melle, an NHS nurse from south London, has settled with her Trust after being suspended for calling a transgender paedophile patient ‘Mr’, citing her Christian faith. She continues to face two ongoing NMC investigations.
16 March 2026
The Free Speech Union launches legal challenge against Government over Islamophobia definition
The Free Speech Union has launched a legal challenge against the Government's "anti-Muslim hostility" definition, warning it threatens free speech and risks creating a back-door Muslim blasphemy law.
2 March 2026
A lone female Met Police officer defends free speech – but Christian street preachers are being targeted
A lone Met Police officer went viral for defending a Christian street preacher's right to speak — but across Britain, heavy-handed policing of preachers is becoming the norm.
28 February 2026
Britain is on course for a blasphemy law by the back door, and a recent case might open it
A man who burned a Quran in protest was convicted while his knife-wielding attacker walked free. Is the CPS quietly reviving blasphemy law by the back door?
28 February 2026
Judge rules that Christian social worker who had his job offer withdrawn was discriminated against
A landmark ruling finds that a mental health charity unlawfully discriminated against Christian social worker Felix Ngole by withdrawing a job offer over his biblical views on marriage.
1 February 2026
Hindu community leaders warn against Islamophobia definition
Hindu community leaders have warned that an official definition of Islamophobia risks a chilling effect on legitimate criticism and free speech.
18 December 2025
School teacher sacked for telling a Muslim pupil that Britain is a Christian country
27 November 2025
The CPS go after Hamit Coskun…again
26 November 2025
The majority of Brits do not support Labour’s official definition of Islamophobia
21 November 2025
Right to criticise Islam ruled a protected belief under the Equality Act 2010
30 July 2025
Rev Dr Bernard Randall still barred from ministry, six years after delivering a sermon on CofE teaching
22 June 2025
“I just think it’s wrong”: Police officer tells Christian to stop preaching outside King’s Cross
4 June 2025
Protect freedom to criticise Islam in law, MPs demand
24 April 2025
Badenoch: Labour is a threat to free speech over support for blasphemy laws
24 March 2025
Primary school scraps Easter service to ‘respect’ other religions
21 March 2025
Christian teacher who said ‘LGBT is a sin’ loses court battle
14 March 2025
No charges for east London Imam’s “destroy Jewish homes” sermon
14 March 2025
Retired Pastor faces court for preaching near Northern Ireland abortion clinic
22 February 2025
Salman Rushdie attacker found guilty of attempted murder
17 February 2025
FSU attempts to contact Koran burning suspect amid fears of ‘blasphemy law by the back door’
13 February 2025
Judges back Christian sacked for Facebook posts
6 February 2025
The trouble with criminalising ‘Islamophobia’
3 February 2025
Man arrested after live video of Quran being burned in Manchester
3 February 2025
Manchester Police name Quran-burning suspect despite threat to life
30 January 2025
Christian Iraqi who burned the Koran shot dead in Sweden during live stream
31 December 2024
Richard Dawkins quits atheism foundation for backing transgender ‘religion’
10 December 2024
Christianity has become the ultimate offence – and now a sackable one
4 December 2024
Church of England spending “excessively” on HR and diversity officers, report warns
3 December 2024
Christian fights blasphemy charges in Pakistani social media entrapment case
3 December 2024
Ipswich captain Sam Morsy refuses to wear Rainbow Laces armband because of ‘religious beliefs’
2 December 2024
“Shocking” findings of ex-Muslims study shared at NSS Members’ Day
1 December 2024
Britain has a blasphemy law in all but name
1 December 2024
One person’s blasphemy is another’s religious belief. You can’t ban it
1 December 2024
Ontario Human Rights Tribunal fines Emo Township for refusing to honour Pride month
26 November 2024
Muslim schoolgirl admits lying that her teacher was Islamophobic - which led to him being decapitated by a jihadist
24 November 2024
Free speech row after regulator bans advert for mocking Virgin Mary
20 November 2024
School removes Christmas references from panto to make children feel ‘safe and valued’
16 November 2024
Doctors and vicars accused of non-crime hate incidents
10 November 2024
Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses can finally be published in India
5 November 2024
Eight on trial in France over murder of teacher who showed Prophet caricature
2 November 2024
Silent prayer breaches of abortion clinic ‘buffer zones’ will land offenders unlimited fines
25 October 2024
FSU a signatory on letter to Prime Minister expressing “grave concerns” over planned conversion therapy ban
16 October 2024
Qur’an burner charged with hate crime in Swedish Court
13 October 2024
Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales given trigger warning over “expressions of Christian faith”
22 September 2024
Street preacher Hatun Tash wins payout after arrest for damaging her own Qur’an
5 September 2024
Is the Labour Government inching closer to adopting a definition of ‘Islamophobia’?
19 August 2024
Anti-abortion campaigner receives apology and substantial payout from police after twice being arrested for silent prayer
13 August 2024
Justin Welby “plainly wrong” over “egregious” blacklisting of gender critical chaplain
17 July 2024
Sir Keir Starmer has used his first King’s Speech to announce that a draft Bill will be brought forward to ban conversion practices
11 July 2024
Will so-called ‘conversion therapy’ be banned under Labour?
26 June 2024
This must be Labour’s most disturbing policy yet
25 June 2024
Labour will ban conversion therapy despite ‘test case’ fears
1 June 2024
French Ligue 1 footballer banned for refusing to wear LGBT themed matchday shirt
30 May 2024
Lecturer sacked from Bible college for saying ‘homosexuality is invading the Church’
30 May 2024
Teachers could get legal protection from blasphemy claims
25 May 2024
Backlash as Muslim children in Italy exempted from studying Dante
21 May 2024
Warsaw Mayor bans display of Christian crosses on public buildings
20 May 2024
Almost 40pc of British Christians are “wary” of telling others about their faith
20 May 2024
Teachers to get free speech protection from blasphemy claims
14 May 2024
Christians feared expulsion from the Lib Dems over faith
3 May 2024
Teacher banned over misgendering pupil “had free speech right infringed”
23 April 2024
Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen ‘Hate Speech’ Case Appealed to Supreme Court
10 April 2024
Rishi Sunak as committed to banning conversion therapy as ever
4 April 2024
SNP conversion therapy ban ‘risks criminalising prayer and parental guidance’
3 April 2024
Christian social worker sues NHS-backed care firm after “being denied job for anti-LGBTQ+ views”
29 March 2024
Church tribunal clears clergyman who called trans archdeacon ‘a bloke’
24 March 2024
End school protests that force teachers to adopt de facto blasphemy code, says independent government advisor
18 March 2024
Parents face 7 years’ jail if they challenge “puberty blocker law”
11 March 2024
Blasphemy demos “are growing in radicalism”, warns a government commissioned report
8 March 2024
Banning Islamophobia: Blasphemy Law by the Backdoor
8 March 2024
FSU helps street preacher fight back against “disproportionate” police gagging order
5 March 2024
Government proposals to broaden ‘extremism’ definition “the path to authoritarianism”
4 March 2024
The dangers of banning ‘Islamophobia’
3 March 2024
Banning Islamophobia: Blasphemy Law by the Backdoor
29 February 2024
Why Lloyd Russell-Moyle’s Conversion Therapy Bill is an assault on free speech
29 February 2024
Why Lloyd Russell-Moyle’s Conversion Therapy Bill is an Assault on Free Speech
23 February 2024
FSU Writers’ Advisory Council writes to Royal Society of Literature over its failure to publicly support Sir Salman Rushdie
20 February 2024
School chaplain sacked and reported to terrorist watchdog for identity politics sermon begins appeal
17 February 2024
Salman Rushdie, Bernardine Evaristo and the Royal Society of Literature at war
10 February 2024
Conversion therapy ban is threat to free speech, warns Tory peer
9 February 2024
“Impartial” Royal Society of Literature can’t support authors who come under attack for their ideas, says president
9 February 2024
Why we should resist this “conversion therapy” ban
4 February 2024
Royal Society of Literature failing to support writer's right to freedom of expression, say current members
29 January 2024
UK teacher who showed Muhammed cartoon "to start discussion about blasphemy" still in hiding 3 years later
24 January 2024
Why won’t the police leave street preachers alone?
23 January 2024
Three attacked "for being Jewish" and "speaking Hebrew" in Leicester Square
