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Thursday 17 May 2012	Free speech


Josie Appleton These petty laws are an insult to the public Yes, let’s get rid of Britain’s mad ban on using ‘insulting’ words. But don’t ignore the rest of the state’s criminalisation of everyday behaviour.

Thursday 10 May 2012
Luke Samuel This defamation bill is no friend of freedom Bizarrely, free-speech activists are cheering a new bill that will entrench the state’s right to decide what we can say.

Wednesday 25 April 2012
Mick Hume History and politics are never a ‘High Court’ matter It is a sad sign when a leading war reporter can declare that big issues are not for ‘media debate’ and threaten critics with libel writs.

Tuesday 17 April 2012
Luke Samuel Don’t ban it. Get over it! The banning of silly Christian bus adverts reveals the contempt in which the mayor holds ordinary Londoners.

Wednesday 11 April 2012
Nick Cater Panorama and the toxic BBC culture The editor of the Weekend Australian says the BBC’s claim that News Corp encouraged piracy against competitors is pure conspiracy theory.

Thursday 29 March 2012
Mick Hume Who wants to live in Hugh Grant’s ‘ideal world’? The tabloid-bashing actor-crusader returns to read Lord Justice Leveson’s script on ‘light touch’ state regulation of the press.

Wednesday 28 March 2012
Patrick Hayes ...but tweets will never hurt me The imprisonment of a UK student for posting ‘aggravating’ tweets about an ill footballer is no LOL matter.

Thursday 15 March 2012
Patrick Hayes Free speech on Facebook? Think again The prosecution of a teenager for sounding off about British soldiers on Facebook should be of concern to us all.

Thursday 15 March 2012
Luke Samuel Stand up if you hate this law Chanting ‘vile abuse’ at other footie supporters shouldn’t be a criminal offence – it is a vital part of being a fan.

Tuesday 21 February 2012
Mick Hume Who’s afraid of the Sun rising on a Sunday? Rupert Murdoch’s new tabloid has already been branded a ‘creature from the swamp’ – let’s hope it is the News of the World with knobs on.

Monday 30 January 2012
Gabrielle Shiner The misogyny of the anti-Page 3 brigade The prudes trying to strip the tabloids of topless pics belittle women far more than any male reader could.

Wednesday 25 January 2012
Mick Hume The Leveson Inquiry is the enemy of a free press Now it's out: Lord Justice Leveson wants quasi-state regulation - in the name of 'press freedom'.

Tuesday 24 January 2012
Brendan O’Neill ‘This is becoming an anti-tabloid witch-hunt’ Read the transcript of CBC’s interview with Brendan O’Neill about Leveson, lies and press freedom.

Tuesday 3 January 2012
Brendan O’Neill Using tabloid tactics to slay the tabloids The Guardian's retraction of the Charlotte Church story brings to 40 the number of anti-Murdoch articles it has had to correct.

Thursday 15 December 2011
Kevin Rooney The SNP’s offensive against free speech A draconian law passed in Scotland yesterday blurs the distinction between hurtful words and harmful deeds.

Tuesday 13 December 2011
Brendan O’Neill The truth about anti-tabloid hysteria Many of the anti-Murdoch stories of the past year have been based more on rumour than reality.

Wednesday 7 December 2011
Mick Hume Serious journalists ♥ slebs for censorship Why those who normally abhor celebrity culture are cheering the likes of Hugh Grant and Steve Coogan against the celeb-obsessed tabloids.

Monday 5 December 2011
Stuart Waiton The rise and rise of intolerant tolerance ESSAY: Scotland’s elite is trying to fashion a whole new identity built on anti-sectarianism.

Monday 5 December 2011
Rob Lyons It’s Jeremy Clarkson’s fans they really fear Clarkson’s comments are considered dangerous because his audience is presumed to be a bunch of thicko automatons.

Tuesday 22 November 2011
Kevin Rooney Celtic fans: you’re not singing anymore In what country was a 17-year-old recently arrested for singing an outlawed song? Iran? China? No, it was the UK.
Next Page >>

The May issue of spiked plus is now live, featuring spiked’s take on SYRIZA, why the ‘star’ of the Leveson Inquiry, Robert Jay, is no hero, plus Q&A with Claire Fox. Read all this and more here.

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