Freedom of Speech

Baroness Merron Excerpts

Friday 10th December 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

My Lords, after a debate of this range and depth, I do not mind admitting to your Lordships’ House that it is a somewhat overwhelming task before me, but not as overwhelming as the task for the Minister, who is surely facing a Herculean task, and I wish him well. I thank most sincerely the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury for giving your Lordships’ House a rich opportunity today to consider such an important matter of our time, which is so deeply affecting on so many different aspects of our lives. As he so wisely observed, free speech is not just frank speech, it is fitting speech, and it is the pursuit of this on which I believe the debate today has focused.

In your Lordships’ House, we pride ourselves on being a pillar of democracy and, indeed, this is so. However, as the noble Lord, Lord Walney, observed, a democracy is not something that should be rigid; it should be able to flex and it also needs resilience. That means the accommodation of a breadth of opinion and thought. As my noble friend Lord Cashman said, hate speech destroys our democracy, and it is this that we must seek to protect. Yet we find ourselves challenged by a broad societal shift, whereby so much discourse seems to be conducted as confrontation. As the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Birmingham observed, it is not just about the views that we hold but about how we conduct ourselves. So, how do we shift ourselves away from the attitude of “How can I win?” to an attitude of how do we, as a collective, win? How do we balance freedoms with a sense of personal responsibility? How do we ensure effective statutory protection from offensive behaviour? These are all questions that we will continue to have to answer in today’s society.

Freedom of speech is part of a wider concept of freedom of expression, and we should remind ourselves that this includes freedom of the press, the right to petition the Government and freedom of political association. It is widely recognised as an essential foundation of a liberal, democratic society, and as we have the blessing to live in one such society, there is of course a great tendency to take it for granted. As the noble Baroness, Lady Falkner, observed, those coming to these shores are acutely aware that this is a precious gift to be treasured, and we can learn much from this.

The United Nations 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the anniversary of which we celebrate today, recognises freedom of expression is a fundamental human right to be universally protected. Article 19 reads:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”


Yet this freedom is not an unrestricted right. The European Convention on Human Rights, adopted in 1950, was explicit that the right may be limited by law and added the caveat that restrictions may be imposed for a variety of reasons, including to protect the rights of others, something that has come through loud and clear today.

Of course the Joint Committee on Human Rights summarised what this has come to mean in the UK: everyone has a right to free speech within the law, and, unless it is unlawful, speech should usually be allowed. So we have a strong statutory framework in this country, yet we find ourselves in a situation where the reality and practice is rather more testing for us. I certainly look forward, as I know your Lordships’ House does, to the report of the Joint Committee on the Draft Online Safety Bill, as so tantalisingly promised by my noble friend Lord Stevenson. This report will indeed help us to navigate the way ahead.

My noble friend Lord Griffiths, the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Sentamu, and many other noble Lords—unsurprisingly in this debate—spoke of the importance of faith and morality, while the noble and learned Lord, Lord Brown, spoke of what it is like to experience anti-Semitism as someone who is Jewish. I feel moved to add that hatred towards Jews does not require a Jewish person to even be in the room. It is the world’s oldest hatred and, like so many hatreds, can express itself behind the cloak of free speech. It gives free speech a bad name; it is hatred, pure and simple. As I am the former chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews—the organisation that represented the Jewish community in this country— I know only too well the importance of calling out wrongs wherever they come from and whoever peddles them. I know the value of bringing clarity to guide where there may be ignorance and to bring transgressors to book where hatred raises its ugly head.

As we consider today the role of public, private and civil society in the upholding of freedom of speech, I want to refer to the working definition of anti-Semitism, as laid out by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, and adopted by Governments, universities, sports clubs, councils, organisations and many others across the UK and indeed across the world. It helps us to guide and confirm for us what is and is not anti-Semitism—something raised by the noble Lord, Lord Singh. For example, when talking about criticism of Israel, the definition says that:

“Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.”


So, what is anti-Semitic? It is, as the definition states—I find the examples extremely illuminating—

“Applying double standards by requiring of”


Israel

“a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation … Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis … Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.”

I mention this definition as an illustration to assist us. As we go forward, I hope that we can be bold in offering protection through clarity and a determination to say what is right and what is wrong. I know that this House will play its part.

I am aware that ongoing attempts by some to promote culture wars are doing little to help move society in the right direction. Rather than bringing people together, it puts communities at odds. Again, as my noble friend Lord Cashman, observed, when the rights of one minority are infringed, it is not long before the rights of other minorities and groups are infringed. So we are indeed all in this together, even though some may seek to pitch us against each other.

I welcome the previous Labour Government’s action in enshrining the European Convention on Human Rights in domestic law via the Human Rights Act, ensuring protection for freedom of expression while making it clear that such freedoms are subject to certain constraints and responsibilities, including protections against hate speech. It is vital that we do not give houseroom to any notion of scrapping the Human Rights Act, which would open the door to a fundamental rewriting or reinterpretation of convention rights.

The most reverend Primate has spoken previously of the need for people to disagree well; we need to challenge each other, lest we end up so firmly in our own bubbles that we are unable to relate to each other. However, it feels as though societal division has increased rather than improved. It has certainly not been our greatest hour as a society to see and hear the nature of debate on issues such as Brexit and Covid. This will not be the first or last time that political topics divide people from their families and friends, but it does feel as if people’s views are so deeply entrenched these days that relationships are being needlessly destroyed purely because of differences of opinion.

On Brexit, there was the toxicity of the campaign, which focused constantly on immigration and misleading claims—for example, potential Turkish membership. There were also the media headlines, which screamed, among other things, that judges were to be seen as the “enemies of the people”. This toxicity infects the very nature of society in the way it pits person against person and throws away regard for institutions that protect our way of life.

On Covid, freedom of speech and thought is one thing, but the sight of anti-vaxxers screaming in the faces of children outside school gates is surely a bridge too far. The peddling of conspiracy theories on social media, of which the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron, spoke, threatens the health of people as well as the health of our democracy.

We have a responsibility to support the true worth of freedom of speech, while having the courage, insight and determination to put all that we need to in place to protect those who need protections and to allow our democracy to thrive. These are responsibilities from which, I am sure, your Lordships’ House will not shy away.