Toby Young
Founder and director of the Free Speech Union
Toby Young is a British journalist and former Director of the New Schools Network, a free schools charity. In addition to being the founder and General Secretary of the Free Speech Union, he is an associate editor of The Spectator and the editor-in-chief of the Daily Sceptic. He was ennobled in 2024 and is now Lord Young of Acton.
On Monday, he will be returning to Triggernometry to discuss the details of the Online Safety Act, what it means for children using the internet and his thoughts on whether it is a good idea.
Comment your question for Francis and Konstantin to ask Toby at the end of the interview.
Given how far we have fallen down the rabbit hole with regard to censoring speech/ expression, culminating with the coming into force of the Online Safety Act, what are decent law abiding citizens to do to fight against where we find ourselves?
Glad you are back...I'm a longtime fan of yours. Regarding the case of Hamit Coskun, you have pointed out that the UK legal system now protects the right to blaspheme against Christianity (following the repeal of blasphemy laws in 2008), yet prosecutes those who blaspheme against Islam.
I suspect few outside the UK have heard a clear articulation of the legal reasoning behind this apparent double standard. Could you explain the precise origin and legal basis for this policy?
And having clarified this, is it unreasonable or reactionary to interpret the Coskun conviction as a landmark moment signifying the first successful implementation of Islamic law within a Western legal system?