Now that the British state has decreed that making fun of Nazis is illegal, what are the implications for the art of comedy? When in 2005 the New Labour government attempted to criminalise the mockery of religion through its Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, Rowan Atkinson spearheaded an oppositional campaign in which he argued that ‘the right to offend is far more important than any right not to be offended’. Comedians appeared to be united in their support for freedom of speech. But in the intervening years this consensus has eroded. The recent conviction of Markus Meechan (aka Count Dankula), the YouTuber responsible for the now notorious ‘Nazi pug’ video, has exposed stark divisions within the comedy community.
Last week Tom Walker and I wrote a satirical response to the Count Dankula verdict. In the video, news reporter Jonathan Pie stands outside Airdrie Sheriff Court and rails against the prosecutors for their tyrannical behaviour. The video quickly went viral and generated some heated debate in its wake. Some comedians were kind enough to support our work. Others decried it as a defence of far-right values – an interpretation so far off the mark that it beggars belief.
The immediacy of Twitter means that you can find yourself embroiled in the most bizarre exchanges. Before long, we somehow ended up in a dispute with Graham Linehan, the man behind the popular sitcoms Father Ted, The IT Crowd and Black Books. In a series of increasingly unhinged tweets, Linehan implied that by upholding the principle of free speech we had become Nazi apologists. Later, he posed the question: ‘Will Jonathan Pie be doing a follow-up to shout “It was a joke, you cunts” at Ephraim Borowski and the people he represents?’ Borowski is director of the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities. So as far as Linehan is concerned, we’re one step away from committing an act of wanton anti-Semitism. This is pretty indefensible stuff, but then they do say you should never tweet your heroes.
Linehan even cited my writing for spiked as an indication that I may have far-right sympathies. For my part, I am perfectly happy to contribute to an online magazine that supports free speech, individual liberty and immigration, while vehemently opposing racism, white supremacy and Donald Trump. Somebody should explain to Linehan that if his argument depends on the mischaracterisation of his opponents, then he hasn’t got an argument at all.
None of this is really all that surprising. As I have pointed out elsewhere, the more vocal elements of the liberal-left have a tendency to lack basic argumentative skills, favouring unsubstantiated slurs over reasoned debate. Meechan has been branded a fascist, and so according to their logic anyone who defends his right to free speech must be likewise stigmatised. It should go without saying that an accusation of fascism is a serious matter and requires hard evidence. The police have spent the best part of two years investigating Meechan and have found nothing to suggest any connections with the far right. But for the pitchfork-wielding Twitterati, facts are routinely subordinated to private intuition.


