THE HONEYBALL BUZZ

In February I postedabout the abhorrent far right Dutch MP Geert Wilders who had been invited to the United Kingdom to speak by the pictured Lord Pearson who is a member of UKIP.  I argued then that Jacqui Smith was wrong to prevent him expressing his views.  I am satisfied (pleased would mean I want people like Geert Wilders in London) that the appeal against the ban has been upheld.

There’s a couple of thoughts that come to mind.  How can we prevent people like Geert Wilders expressing their views in Britain, when the more extreme Nick Griffin from the BNP will appear on Question Time next week?  We have to accept that these views can be expounded no matter how much the vast majority of people disagree with them.  Also, as you will see from my post yesterday in relation to the Trafigura case , I am a passionate believer in the right of free speech.  It would be both illogical and unacceptable to stand up for free speech against a commercial corporation which has done wrong and then not allow political views, however abhorrent, to be aired. 

Looking back at my original post on Geert Wilders,  I note that I didn’t make an issue of the pictured UKIP peer, Lord Pearson, inviting such an extremist. David Cameron in 2006 described UKIP as “fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists“.  Having spent five years in the European Parliament with these closet racists, I am no longer surprised to see UKIP’s dealings with far-right politicians.

Interestingly, though, it is now David Cameron himself who consorts with racists in his new ECR group, many of whom are far from “closet”.