Jacqui Smith's Hate List

Any idea who this man is ?

He’s Michael Savage, an American talk-show presenter, or “shock-jock”, as they call them over there. Since October he’s been banned from entering the UK. Why ? Is he a terrorist ? A baby-killer ? A rapist, perhaps ? Well no, actually, not as far as we know. He’s been banned because he has strong views, and he expresses them.

He’s previously described the Quran as a "book of hate", and has said of children with autism that in most cases it's "a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out."

Just thought I’d let you know what he thinks, seeing as he can’t tell you himself.

So this is what Britain has now come to.

For four long years to 1945 Britain and America fought alongside each other in defence of freedom against the principles held by ruthless dictatorships intent on silencing millions. For decades since then, our two countries have time-and-again stood side-by-side when it comes to defending basic human rights. Let us, very briefly, compare our two nations’ approach to freedom in 2009.

Michael Savage is unquestionably controversial, and revels in so being. He routinely articulates views to which a minority would subscribe and which many would find distastful. In freedom-loving America, he is allowed to broadcast daily on national radio, to an audience of millions. In New Labour’s Britain, he is banned. What could possible better illustrate the effects of 12 years of socialism on the basic right of the individual to express a point of view ?

If Labour get re-elected then it really, really will not be long before Savage’s views and hundreds more are banned entirely in the UK, irrespective of whether or not the people who want to express them actually live here.

Savage has now described Jacqui Smith as a “lunatic” and says he’s going to sue her for defamation. Good on him. On both counts.

For her part, Smith loftily - and somewhat darkly - proclaims: "I think it's important that people understand the sorts of values and sorts of standards that we have here”. Quite. The values we appear to have are these: if we disagree with what you say then you ain’t saying it here.

Our much-loved home Secretary yesterday issued a list of 16 people who are banned from entering the UK on the basis of the views they hold and express. Another six names are being kept secret “in the public interest”, whatever that means.

For a reason I don’t even begin to understand, Smith’s list doesn’t even include Geert Wilders MEP, whom she had detained at Heathrow earlier in the year. It makes you wonder how many other people she’s banned and isn’t telling us about.

For the sake of clarity, here is the complete list of people whom Smith is prepared to admit to having banned. Feel free to Google them to find out what they believe in…do it while you can.

Radio talk show host Michael Savage
American Baptist pastor Fred Waldron Phelps Snr
Phelps' daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper
Hamas MP Yunis Al-Astal
Jewish extremist Mike Guzovsky
Ex Klu Klux Klan grand wizared Stephen Donald Black
Neo-Nazi Erich Gliebe
Russian gang leader Artur Ryno
Russian gang leader Pavel Skachevsky
Preacher Wadgy Abd El Hamied Mohamed Ghoneim
Preacher Abdullah Qadri Al Ahdal
Preacher Safwat Hijazi
Preacher Amir Siddique
Muslim activist Abdul Ali Musa
Murderer and Hezbollah terrorist Samir Al Quntar
Kashmiri terror group leader Nasr Javed