I see that Jack Straw, one of the “independent” reviewers of the freedom of information act who has previously said he would like to see it restricted, is taking part in a debate on freedom of speech later this month.
The former Labour home secretary will talk about the conflict between the exercise of freedom of speech and showing respect for faith groups.
He is one of the panellists lined up to take part in a debate entitled “Freedom of speech versus respect for religious belief: how do we get the balance right?”
The issues at this time are obvious. Is it possible to strike a balance between open debate in the press and in public without showing disrespect for different faith groups.
Given the 24-hour media cycle that appears to be dominated by questions of extremism and tolerance the debate is certainly timely.
Others on the panel will be Francis Campbell, vice-chancellor of St Mary’s University who was formerly ambassador to the Vatican and Adrian Pabst, one of the editors of the book Blue Labour: forging a new politics.
The debate will be chaired by the BBC’s religious affairs correspondent Caroline Wyatt, and will take place on Tuesday 17 November at Westminster Cathedral.
Organised jointly by The Tablet and St Mary’s University, it marks their twin anniversaries - The Tablet is in its 175th year of continuous publication and St Mary’s in Twickenham is 165 this year.
