Sir, – “The Phil Society” at Trinity College, Dublin, the oldest and one of the most prestigious debating societies in the world, recently, because of the threat of violence from extreme left organisations, was forced to cancel the appearance of Nick Griffin, MEP chair of the British National Party. Mr Griffin was to appear in support of the motion: “That immigration has gone too far”.
We request that the Trinity College administration re-invite Mr Griffin to join the panel for the rescheduling of the motion.
Free speech is the cornerstone of democratic societies. The denial of one person’s speech, no matter how offensive, or even stupid, is the denial of all speech.
Our request for a re-invitation should not be construed as an endorsement or a condemnation of Mr Griffin’s personal political philosophy. – Yours, etc,