Left Suddenly Concerned About Freedom of Speech After Anti-Monarchy Activists Arrested

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 06: Protesters hold up placards reading "Not My King" in Trafalgar S
Sebastien Bozon - WPA Pool/Getty Images
Peter Caddle

Lefties in the United Kingdom are crying for “freedom of speech” after the arrest of a number of anti-monarchist activists in London.

Hardline leftists in the UK are suddenly furious about a lack of freedom of speech in Britain after a number of anti-monarchist activists were arrested in London while protesting the crowning of King Charles III.

Many progressives are now angrily pleading for free speech in the wake of the arrests, arguing that the detention of the activists is a signifier that the United Kingdom is drifting closer to authoritarianism.

Writing on Twitter, hard-left Labour Party politician Zarah Sultana described the arrests as “deeply disturbing“, with the arrests violating an individual’s right to protest.

“It is deeply disturbing that organisers of the #NotMyKing protest in London have been arrested this morning, before the protest even began,” she wrote.

“Whatever you think of the monarchy, the right to peaceful protest is fundamental to democracy,” she went on to say.

Another prominent activist, Ash Sarkar, meanwhile described the move as an “anti-democratic crackdown“, asking netizens how they could possibly agree with the move, even if they did support the monarchy.

One Green Party member of the House of Lords meanwhile messaged the London Metropolitan Police expressing hope that it was not true that arrests had been made “because freedom of speech is a cornerstone of our democracy” adding that she would “hate” for them to break that British tradition.

However, while many activists are pushing for freedom of speech in the wake of the arrests, a number of those criticising the arrests either stayed silent or actively cheered on UK hate speech laws and arrests.

For example, Zarah Sultana has a history of cheering on digital censorship, with the left-wing MP sharing a post calling for the removal of some opinions on Facebook.

Meanwhile, the Green Party politician has called for “misogyny” to be made a hate crime in Britain.

Many activists have also been rather quiet about previous drifts towards censorship previously when it was largely focused on the political right, with police in the UK, in particular, being infamous for chasing up so-called “hate speech” and “non-crime hate incidents“, both of which can ruin a person’s employment prospects.

Follow Peter Caddle on Twitter: @Peter_Caddle
Follow Breitbart London on Facebook: Breitbart London

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.