Free speech row as UK school bars Breitbart editor

The school said it decided to cancel the lecture by Milo Yiannopoulos citing security concerns due to planned protests and after consulting with a government "counter extremism unit".

Yiannopoulos, who is technology editor for the right-wing US news website, is known for his provocative social media posts and was banned from Twitter in July for fuelling abuse directed at "Ghostbusters" actress Leslie Jones.

The British journalist is a vocal supporter of Donald Trump -- nicknaming the US president-elect "Daddy" during his election campaign -- and has become one of the faces of America's "alt-right" movement.

Breitbart's support is believed to have helped Trump win the US election.

"This decision was taken following contact from the DfE (Department for Educaton) counter extremism unit," said a spokesman for the Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys in Canterbury, southeast England.

He said staff and students at the school had been "overwhelmingly in favour" of hosting the former pupil, with 220 students signing up to attend.

But "the threat of demonstrations at the school by organised groups and members of the public and our overall concerns for the security of the school site and the safety of our community," had led to the decision to scrap the talk, the spokesman added.

Yiannopoulos hit out at the move, which sparked heated reactions from supporters and detractors on social media, branding it an assault on free speech.

"Free speech is dead in the UK", the self-declared internet "supervillain" wrote on his Facebook page alongside an article from the Sun website.

The tabloid newspaper said Yiannopoulos, seen by many as a toxic figure but a star writer at Breitbart, had been expelled from the school more than a decade ago.

The Department for Education (DfE) said the decision to cancel the event "was a matter for the school".

"When concerns are raised by members of the public following media coverage in advance of an event, DfE would contact the school as a matter of routine to check they had considered any potential issues," a DfE spokesman said.

The school said it would "remain committed to the principle of free speech and open debate and will resist, where possible, all forms of censorship."

Source: AFP