So, the BNP two have been acquitted of inciting racial hatred.
Some commentators have drawn comparisons between this and the case of Mizanur Rahman, who was recently found guilty of inciting racial hatred at a rally against the Danish cartoons. (The link here is from The Times – can’t find the verdict on the BBC News website, perhaps it’s been removed due to the possibility of a retrial… I was starting to think I’d imagined the verdict).
Anyway, I think the parallel is false one. There is a difference between some odious David Shayler lookalike (are they related? They both make me want to vomit) spouting racist views in a private gathering (well it was private until someone secretly filmed and broadcast it), and someone at a public rally (allegedly) calling for more 9/11s all over Europe and asking for France to be nuked. (You can have Antoine de Caunes, but nuclear war is pushing it a bit, mate).
Mentioning David Shayler reminds me of a wonderful moment when he appeared on Have I Got News For You, on a TV set down the line from Paris. He pointed out how ridiculous it is that cleaners in MI5 have to sign the Official Secrets Act. Stephen Fry said “Yes. And they respect it” to wild applause and cheers from the studio audience.
I think you’ll find, Giles, that they were calling for 7-11s all over Europe. Undesirable but hardly a crime.
:-)