Free speech, UK-style

A quick quiz

jane fae
4 min readJul 17, 2023
A young boy is being interrogated by some soldiers. The officer is asking the boy “And your starter for ten…”. In the background, a soldier is saying “Personally, I blame the trans…”

Who said?

‘I play football and I box, and if any one of those bastards comes near me I will take off my glasses and thump them.

‘I am quite prepared to threaten violence because it seems to me politically what they are seeking to do is piss on women.’

That would be anti-trans campaigner and cis woman, Linda Bellos back in dim and distant 2017.

What happened next?

Nothing. Or rather, police and CPS declined to intervene. When a trans woman initiated a private prosecution, the case arrived in court, where it was promptly taken over by the CPS who…

…dropped it. Because public interest. Or free speech. Or something.

Who said?

‘Each and every one of you women who stand in my way … […] let me just tell you, you will be annihilated…’

Ah yes. That would be anti-trans campaigner and cis woman Posie Parker on YouTube.

What happened next?

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jane fae

Feminist, writer, campaigner on political and sexual liberty who also knows a bit about IT, the law and policing. Not entirely serious…