Trinity debate ban for BNP's Griffin

Published Saturday, 15 October 2011
Comments
Toggle font size
Print

Trinity College Dublin has withdrawn its invitation to Nick Griffin, leader of the British National Party, who was due to take part in a debate on immigration.

Mr Griffin had been scheduled to give a speech next week, however the university has been forced into a u-turn over safety concerns.

It admitted it cannot guarantee the wellbeing of staff and students, and warned the controversial leader he won't be allowed on campus.

Members of the BNP have also been banned from the event on Thursday.

A spokesperson for the university said it carefully considered objections from the faculty before deciding to pull Mr Griffin's invite.

"Following careful review of operational and safety issues, the Philosophical Society and the college are now not satisfied that the general safety and wellbeing of staff and students can be guaranteed," a statement read.

"Access to the college will not be given to Mr Griffin or members of the BNP."

The Philosophical Society at Trinity had invited Mr Griffin to talk as part of their debate: 'This House Believes That Immigration Has Gone Too Far.'

However there was opposition from a grouping called Students Against Fascism.

Mr Griffin said he is "disappointed" by the decision.

"I was looking forward to giving reasoned argument to show that immigration has not been to the benefit of the Irish (and indeed British) people," he said.

"I wanted to convince people, through debate, that economically and culturally any benefit from immigration was far outweighed by negative impacts."

The BNP further claim the decision was made after "a far-left mob" of around 30 protesters interrupted a meeting of the society and "intimidated students".

A brief statement the University Philosophical Society said: "The Phil feels it is unfortunate that circumstances have arisen under which the planned debate can no longer go ahead without compromising the safety of staff and students."

© UTV News
Comments Comments
9 Comments
Joan Walters in Bristol wrote (216 days ago):
Reading the first couple of paragraphs of the above one gets the impression - no doubt deliberate (or is it sloppy journalism?) - that Griffin and the BNP would be directly responsible for any "danger" to staff. There's a pattern here - the media NEVER condemn the undemocratic, violent activities of the Leftist anti BNP mobs whilst at the same time always seek to infer that nationalists and the BNP are the violent ones. What does THAT tell us (about the media)?
Anonymous in Belfast wrote (218 days ago):
Freedom of speech no matter how extremist is still freedom of speech. I lodge a motion we ban Sinn Fein and all extremist left parties from public events. Oh wait, I live in a democracy that upholds the ideals of such a form of government. Guess I am glad to be living in the freedom loving United Kingdom and not the repressive Irish republic.
Captain in Belfast wrote (220 days ago):
Great news. Glad to see the liberal fools at Trinity were forced to abandon this preposterous proposal. Congradulations to all leftwing activists who contributed to blocking this recruitment event. With the rise of the far-right, this was paramount. Hate speech is not free speech and free speech comes with a responsibility.
big bill in belfast wrote (221 days ago):
so much for free speech , the hard nuts of the left wing are the real problem for democracy
Stan Arnold in UK wrote (221 days ago):
Absolutely agree with the other posters. Griffin might have a dodgy past, but so have lots of Labour politicians who, in their youth, embraced the ideology of mass murderer, Joseph Stalin. Shame on Trinity. The violent ultra-left have won. Free speech is being stamped out. Of course Trinity could set up a videoconferencing screen for Griffin! By the way, just how bad are the BNP? They are the only party opposing the war in Lybia, The only party opposing the war in Afghanistan. And they were against the Iraq adventure which cost the lives of over half a million muslims. Doesn't sound very fascist to me. Whereas the UAF's levels of political violence and intimidation would have made Hitler proud. It's a funny old world!
POST A COMMENT:
Name:  
Email address*:    
Location:  
Validation:
House Rules:  
Your Comment:  
[All comments are moderated and will not appear immediately. Your name, location and comment will be displayed on this page if your post passes moderation.]
MOST POPULAR GALLERIES