The Free Speech Union

Thank you to James O’Brien @mrjamesob for the free advertisement on LBC this morning.

The Free Speech Union was founded by Toby Young in 2020, two years after his own cancellation. In 2018, shortly after he was appointed to the board of the Office for Students on the strength of his work in education, the offence archaeologists launched a campaign against him. He was forced to resign from five posts, losing half his income and much of his reputation. He wished there had been an organisation he could turn to for help.

The FSU now has more than 50,000 members and has taken on more than 7,000 cases in six years. We receive between 40 and 70 new requests for help every week, and we have saved countless people from losing their jobs, their university places or their liberty simply for exercising their lawful right to free speech.

Often, the process is the punishment — we offer mental health support to our members who need it. The prospect of losing your job and livelihood over something you said can be extremely distressing. You can read the first report ever published on the mental health effects of cancellation by Carole Sherwood and Andrew MacLeod with a forward from Lord Young below.

It was in recognition of Toby’s work defending free speech that Kemi Badenoch nominated him for a peerage. That means the FSU can now do more than ever to protect free speech in Britain, at a time when it is under attack from all sides.

More than 60,000 people were arrested for “communications offences” between 2021 and 2025, a @BigBrotherWatch report found.

If the police turn up at your door and haul you into a cell for hours over something you’ve said online — as they did to Maxie Allen (@MaxieAllen) and Rosalind Levine — an FSU membership will be the best money you ever spend. We provided their lawyers, covered their legal fees and secured £20,000 in compensation and an admission of wrongful arrest from Hertfordshire Police.

Join today. You never know when you might need us!👇

📣🚨 Sex, Lies and Statistics — debate & book launch with Professor Alice Sullivan.

12 November, in-person in central London, free livestream for FSU members.

@ProfAliceS has faced violent protests, blacklisting and no-platforming for questioning new orthodoxies that undermine data collection in the name of trans ‘inclusivity’.

Join Alice as she debates the issues raised in her new book, ‘Sex, Lies and Statistics’, with policy experts Professor Catherine Meads, Professor Michael Biggs and Professor Ian Acheson. Join the live audience Q&A to discuss what can be done to restore open inquiry and reasoned debate, followed by a friendly social.

Tickets below and check FSU member newsletter for free livestream link 👇

The Government’s sinister plan to limit our right to a jury trial could lead to another Post Office scandal, the chairman of the Criminal Bar Association has warned.

Under plans introduced by David Lammy when he was Justice Secretary, the Government intends to dramatically curtail the right to a jury trial, claiming this is the only way to reduce the Crown Court backlog. Yet it has provided no credible evidence to support this claim.

Andrew Thomas KC, chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, said magistrates’ courts would not be able to cope with the Government’s plans to transfer 25,000 cases from the Crown Court.

He said there would be shortages of solicitors and barristers available to take on defence cases in magistrates’ courts, while defendants would have more limited access to legal aid.

When asked whether he believed the reforms would increase the risk of an incident on the scale of the appalling Post Office scandal, he replied: “Yes.”

Labour’s Courts and Tribunals Bill returns to the House of Lords next week for line-by-line scrutiny in committee, and amendments are expected to be tabled to water down the reforms.

They are likely to target the proposal to end defendants’ historic right to elect a trial in the Crown Court, with magistrates instead deciding where cases should be heard.

The Free Speech Union knows just how important jury trials are. Our research has shown that people charged with speech-related offences are almost twice as likely to be acquitted in the Crown Court with a jury than in a magistrates’ court without one.

Read more below 👇

The Church of England has warned that the Conversion Practices Bill could criminalise prayer.

The bill is not only an attack on free speech but also an assault on religious freedom.

The Church says the legislation must not “unintentionally criminalise” prayer or pastoral support, and must allow space for discussion and disagreement.

Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church have also voiced grave concerns about this sinister bill.

A Church of England spokesperson said: “Of course, pastoral care and prayer should never be coercive.

“A ban on conversion therapy must still allow space for discussion and disagreement. We want to prevent abuses of power and coercive practices, which should be the focus of any legislation.”

The Church’s legislative body, the General Synod, passed a motion calling for a ban on conversion practices before the proposed law was expanded to include attempts to change someone’s gender identity.

Read more below in @Telegraph 👇

Labour MPs are calling on Andy Burnham to scrap the draft Conversion Practices Bill, which could see parents jailed for up to five years for having well-intentioned conversations with their gender-confused children.

At least a dozen MPs have reportedly told Labour whips that they are unhappy with the bill. A number of ministers are also said to have “grave concerns”.

Under the bill, parents, therapists and religious leaders could face up to five years in prison for putting pressure on someone to change their sexuality or gender identity.

The bill risks being weaponised by activists, children and employers. It is also expected to cost £100 million over a decade.

Lord Glasman, founder of Blue Labour, has said: “Putting parents at risk of prosecution for trying to protect their children is something no Labour government should even consider.”

Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi believes the draconian legislation would have a chilling effect on parents who want to give their children loving advice.

She told The Telegraph: “I would urge the Prime Minister to step in and scrap this bill.

“Mothers are often closest to their children – they need to be brave and strong and look after their children. If parents are criminalised and families divided, it is mothers who will be affected.”

This bill is perverse and sinister. It must be axed.

Read more in @Telegraph 👇