header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us

Free Speech in ‘this twittering world’

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
05 March 2020 / Nicholas Dobson
Issue: 7877 / Categories: Features , Public , Human rights
printer mail-detail
16961
Despite clear rights to freedom of expression, those using Twitter would do well to consider the possible consequences, says Nicholas Dobson
  • College of Policing ‘Hate Crime Operational Guidance’ was lawful.
  • Disproportionate interference with the claimant’s right to freedom of expression.

According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, Xerxes I of Persia (commenting on what he mistakenly took to be a valiantly supportive war manoeuvre by Queen Artemisia of Caria) said: ‘My men have turned into women and my women into men’.

However, if Xerxes were around in the UK today, with the widespread ‘dogmatic belief’ that ‘that trans women are literally women. . .trans men are literally men, and . . .any dissent on this point must automatically be transphobic’ (per Professor Kathleen Stock, Professor of Philosophy at Sussex University), Xerxes may have been irked to find his comment recorded as a ‘non-crime hate incident’.

For that’s what happened to former police officer, Harry Miller. Following the Government’s 2018 consultation on reforms to the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (which proposed replacing current certification requirements

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Hogan Lovells—Lisa Quelch

Hogan Lovells—Lisa Quelch

Partner hire strengthens global infrastructure and energy financing practice

Sherrards—Jan Kunstyr

Sherrards—Jan Kunstyr

Legal director bolsters international expertise in dispute resolution team

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Corporate governance and company law specialist joins the team

NEWS
Read All
Legal notice: Notice under the Trustee Act 1925

NOTICE UNDER THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925

HERBERT SMITH STAFF PENSION SCHEME (THE “SCHEME”)

NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND BENEFICIARIES UNDER SECTION 27 OF THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925
Emergency lawyers on call as international regulatory actions soar
Law firm HFW is offering clients lawyers on call for dawn raids, sanctions issues and other regulatory emergencies
NLJ this week: Employment law’s fine margins
From gender-critical speech to notice periods and incapability dismissals, employment law continues to turn on fine distinctions. In his latest employment law brief for NLJ, Ian Smith of Norwich Law School reviews a cluster of recent decisions, led by Bailey v Stonewall, where the Court of Appeal clarified the limits of third-party liability under the Equality Act
NLJ this week: Promises broken on non-molestation orders?
Non-molestation orders are meant to be the frontline defence against domestic abuse, yet their enforcement often falls short. Writing in NLJ this week, Jeni Kavanagh, Jessica Mortimer and Oliver Kavanagh analyse why the criminalisation of breach has failed to deliver consistent protection
NLJ this week: Assisted dying under the legal microscope
Assisted dying remains one of the most fraught fault lines in English law, where compassion and criminal liability sit uncomfortably close. Writing in NLJ this week, Julie Gowland and Barny Croft of Birketts examine how acts motivated by care—booking travel, completing paperwork, or offering emotional support—can still fall within the wide reach of the Suicide Act 1961
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll