If anyone is supposed to be Voltaireishly defending the lawful right to free speech, it’s the police. That they failed to do so can be blamed on the way Keen is smeared by the authorities
OF THE MANY APHORISMS ABOUT FREE speech, surely the best known is that attributed to Voltaire: that although he might disapprove of what you say, he would defend to the death your right to say it. It is, of course, excellent — as far as it goes. Often, however, those who seek to silence other people’s speech object not to what they say, but how and where.
Consider Kellie-Jay Keen, aka Posie Parker, a women’s rights activist who holds rallies under the rubric Let Women Speak. She advertises a place and time, turns up with stewards in hi-viz jackets, and hands
