The World

I was brought up to believe that Speakers Corner in Hyde Park encapsulate all that is best about Britain. Here is a country where liberty is so ingrained that anybody can turn up, mount a soapbox and give a speech. Of course, in reality, Speakers Corner is a bit of a disappointment. Many of the speakers are lunatics or religious fundamentalists. Still, it’s the thought that counts.

The British government, however, seems increasingly at odds with the notion of freedom of speech. It has taken to banning all manner of foreigners from entering the country, on the grounds that they are promoting offensive or dangerous views. I blogged earlier this year about the decision to exclude Geert Wilders, a Dutch politician who wants to ban the Koran. Now a ban has been issued against Michael Savage, a right-wing American talk-show host – who also has a record of baiting Muslims. Mr Savage has also said offensive things about autistic children – which, amazingly enough, Labour MPs have cited as partial justification for his exclusion. But as Catherine Bennett shows in an excellent column in today’s Observer, it is very hard to argue that Mr Savage is a genuine danger to public order.

Bennett suggests, plausibly enough, that the likes of Wilders and Savage are being excluded from Britain in the search for some sort of politically-correct balance. The government has banned some extremist Islamist preachers and deported others; so it may feel the need to be seen to act against promoters of “Islamaphobia”. This is in danger of becoming simultaneously absurd and dangerous. So here is a better idea. The government should be much more restrained about who it excludes. Racist or offensive views should not be any justification for denying foreigners entry – where would you stop? The only justification for an exclusion should be if a foreigner poses a clear danger to the people of Britain; for example, by encouraging terrorism.

And if a few dangerous radicals make it past immigration – so what? I prefer the Britain that played host to Marx and Bakunin, to the fearful and politically-correct country of today.