Freedom of speech, again

Our glorious government is apparently outraged that the fact that a jury has acquitted Nick Griffin, the leader of the extreme right wing British National Party, of inciting race hatred. He’d described Islam as a “wicked, vicious faith”. Read the BBC news version of the story here.

Yet again, I despair of New Labour and thank God (or Allah if you prefer) for our common law traditions. A jury of 12 ordinary people has more power than the government. I find Nick Griffin and his compatriots repellent. Yet who the hell can possibly believe that passing laws to prevent people from expressing their sick views is going to kill those views? Who shall decide what it’s OK to say and what it’s not OK to say?

Lord Falconer, the Lord Chancellor, head of judiciary and a prize moron said “[ramble, ramble, ramble…..] what is being said to young Muslim people in this country is that we as a country are anti-Islam, and we have got to demonstrate without compromising freedom that we are not.”

Look Charlie, you fool, the truth is a significant minority in Britain is horribly racist. The bare fact is that parts of this country are anti-Islam. I don’t consider myself racist, but there are certain elements of Islam that I don’t like one bit, mostly because of its homophobia, and I ought to be able to say so. Criminalising opinions that you don’t agree with will, rightly, make martyrs of people.

How will “Charlie’s law” work? Will there be lists in the town halls of Britain saying what we can say and what we can’t? The common law has had hundreds of years to determine an appropriate balance between freedom of speech and inciting violence and it’s done a good job: a much better job than I can imagine Charlie Falconer could do of anything. Keep your interfering hands off this country’s traditions.