Freedom of Expression

Our topic is Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Speech, and Word Crimes 

Before the 20th century the principal speech crimes for which someone could be punished in Britain were blasphemy—including expressions of heresy, and sedition—crimes against the state.

The last hanging for blasphemy in the UK was in 1697 and the last imprisonment for blasphemy in 1921. The last successful prosecution for blasphemy was in 1977 when Mary Whitehouse took Gay News to court for publishing a homoerotic poem about Jesus entitled ‘The Love that Dares to Speak its Name’ by James Kirkup. The editor was fined £500 and given a nine month suspended prison sentence. This case exposed the fact that the blasphemy laws only covered Christianity, and the Church of England more specifically.

Since that case there have been further attempts at bringing blasphemy prosecutions but none have succeeded.

In 2008 the common law offence of blasphemous libel was abolished in the UK largely because it had become anomalous in the pluralistic society into which Britain had transformed.

Currently 95 countries still have anti-blasphemy laws with punishments running from fines and imprisonment right up to the Death penalty (Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and Somalia) . In Europe most countries have abolished laws against blasphemy except Poland and Russia.

In February Hamit Coskun, a 50-year-old atheist of Armenian and Kurdish heritage from Derby, burned a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish consulate in Knightsbridge. During the act, he reportedly shouted phrases such as “Islam is religion of terrorism” and “Koran is burning”.

He has been charged under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 for a “religiously aggravated” public order offence. His defence are arguing that this looks like a reintroduction of the offence of blasphemy by the backdoor.

It may not be right to gratuitously offend someone’s deeply held beliefs but has anyone right not to be offended and is that a right that should be defended by law?

Nowadays there are five separate laws which cover Hate Speech, the main one being the Public Order Act 1986 which prohibits incitement to racial hatred. Part 3A (added later) prohibits publishing or saying something intended to stir up hatred against a group based on race, religion, or sexual orientation—even if no violence results.

Last year, Lucy Connolly, a childminder and wife of a Conservative councillor, was sentenced to 31 months in prison for inciting violence against asylum seekers through a tweet following the Southport killings. Her appeal failed even though she had apologised and taken down the tweet.

We will be looking at some of these cases, but they are not all legal. There is, for instance, the case of JK Rowling who raised issues about trans women being able to share private spaces with natal women and who has been vilified on social media and ‘no platformed’. Stopping people from saying things in public that you disapprove of is being called ‘cancel culture’ and critics say that it is having a chilling effect on freedom of speech.

‘PC’ and ‘Woke’ have become terms of abuse by those who see the public sphere becoming more constrained and Social Justice Warriors just moral posturing hypocrites. On the other hand is ‘Anti-work’ just an excuse to sneer at and be rude to vulnerable minorities?

Lots to talk about and get our teeth into. While we cannot guarantee this will be a ‘Safe Space’ it will definitely be ‘Brave Space’.