France and the fatwa
The attack on Salman Rushdie has exposed the deepening fault lines in French culture.
ByFree speech
Storytelling must prevail in a world in which democracy is under threat
The attack on Salman Rushdie was not an isolated incident, but connected to the political and cultural changes we are…
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How the fatwa against Salman Rushdie changed British identity
In 1989 a new global conflict began that still defines our time: a war of power, wealth and dogma.
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Leader: In defence of the open society
A healthy liberal democracy must guarantee freedom of expression; it must not guarantee freedom from offence.
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Salman Rushdie shows us that free speech is life itself
Rushdie knows how vital, how serious the business of storytelling is. Yet in my encounters with him he never took…
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The attack on Salman Rushdie is an attack on a global community of writers and readers
The freedom of expression and imagination that the novelist has bravely championed for so long is under renewed assault.
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The Online Safety Bill has sparked a free speech culture war
As child safety campaigners push for stronger regulation, a growing faction of the Tory party is crying "censorship".
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Is Nadine Dorries a free speech champion or censorship fanatic?
As the Culture Secretary prepares to reveal the latest version of the Online Safety Bill, serious concerns remain.
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The right decries cancel culture, but still it tries to cancel me
By all means champion free speech, but please, be consistent.
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Cancelling Kate Clanchy won’t root out real racism
Intention matters – it is the difference in law between murder and manslaughter.
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If Rod Liddle has the right to lecture Durham students about sex work, where’s my invitation to talk about cats?
After students were condemned for walking out of a surprise dinner talk by the controversial right-wing columnist, I have some…
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Why do students still want Jordan Peterson to tell them how to live?
I shadowed Peterson at two events in Oxford and Cambridge, where the anti-woke culture warrior received an unexpectedly warm welcome.
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Kathleen Stock and Sussex University: the war over academic freedom
How a campus trans row ended in protests, a police investigation – and a debate over the future of free…
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