WHO'LL PAY THE PRICE OF FREE SPEECH?

13-11-2006

Labour peer Lord Ahmed has questioned whether the government will deliver on promises to expandthe law on racial hatred to cover Muslims. His comments come after BNP leader Nick Griffin (along with another party activist) was acquitted of stirring up racialhatred on Fridaydespite calling Islam a "wicked, vicious faith". Stirrer regular Derrick Campbell fears the consequences of the Griffin verdict.

Nick Griffin punched the air and wore a big grin as he arrogantly strutted the streets of Leeds following his verdict. The not-guilty verdict in the retrial of Griffin and the BNP publicity manager Mark Collett,sent their supporters into jubilant cheers outside the court, whereparty members started chanting "freedom, freedom" as they waited for their leader to emerge.

After leaving the court,Griffin took up a megaphone and lambasted the Government, the Crown Prosecution Service and the BBC, whose undercover report on a meeting in a Yorkshire pub two years had prompted the charges.

He had beenfound not guilty on a charge of using words or behaviour intended to stir up racial hatred and an alternative charge of using words or behaviour likely to stir up racial hatred. Collett was found not guilty on four similar charges.

Griffin made his speech in the Reservoir Tavern, Keighley, on January 19, 2004, in which he described Islam as "this wicked, vicious faith" and said that Muslims were turning Britain into a "multi-racial hell hole" and went onto condemn multi-culturalism as wicked.

But was this a real victory for free speech or simply the judicial system giving the game away by supporting the true views and feelings of many people within Britain?

Clearly the laws that were rushed through earlier this year with the aim of attempting to protect Muslims, has now been tested in court and proved to be a complete failure.

Is it simply the case that many people are frightened of Islam and the courts have reflected this by endorsing the sentiments of the BNP? Or has the principle of freedomof expressionreally been upheld?

What's certain isthat with this verdict, the struggle against fascism has taken a massive blow. Indeed, I believe the way has now been made clear for the extremists to operate with more freedom than before and by setting the precedent, the courts seems to have played a very big part in this process. For Muslims and others, the outcome will be less security in their own country, and greater fear. They are the ones who'll pay the price of free speech.