Freedom of Speech

I suppose with all this fuss going on at the Oxford Union, now is as good a time as any to talk about Freedom of Speech.

Contrary to popular mis-conception, we do not have freedom of speech in Britain. This is wrong. I always find it amusing that those who want to stop fascist groups like the BNP from having freedom of speech don't see the irony of their actions. (In case you don't either, it makes them fascists too)

Just because you don't like what someone is saying it doesn't mean they don't have a right to say it.

If I ruled Britain, you would have freedom of speech provided you remain within the confines of other laws (e.g. Official secrets act, contempt of court, libel/slander etc.) Inciting racial hatred wouldn't be a crime but you'd be hard pressed to do so without the odd bit of slander in your words - why go after you with new laws when the good old fashioned ones like treason will do just fine?

As far as the news event itself is concerned, making such a huge fuss over these idiots is giving them exactly what they want. There's no publicity quite like free publicity.