[quote HeadPain]Video of Joanna Cherry and Jacob Rees Mogg in Parliament today talking about this situation
m.youtube.com/watch?v=-AmVkVQs5Ag[/quote]
Transcript here. I just did this, so apologies for any mistakes, but I don't think I made any.
Joanna Cherry: Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. Across our society and particularly in universities and the third sector, women, and some men, are losing their jobs, having their positions undermined, and their personal safety put in jeopardy, simply for questioning the ideology that any man can self identify as a woman and for speaking up for women's sex based rights under the Equality Act. Does the Leader of the House agree with me that all democrats should condemn such attacks on free speech and can we have a debate about free speech and the importance of sex as a protected characteristic under the Equality Act.
Jacob Rees-Mogg: Madam Deputy Speaker, may I begin by saying how sorry I am that the Honourable Lady has left the SNP front bench. Not because I regularly agree with her, because I don't think that I do. But because she has made it clear that she is one of the most intelligent and careful scrutinisers of Government, not just on her benches but in this House. And when I was on the Brexit Select Committee with her, her analysis and her questioning were, dare I say this, dare I admit this, second to none. And as I believe good Government depends on careful scrutiny, her removal from office is a loss to our democratic system. Dare I say, perhaps ungraciously that moan-a-lot [his nickname for Nicola Sturgeon] is responsible for this and it may be for reasons of internal SNP politicking, but to come to the Honourable Lady's point, free speech is fundamental and it is disgraceful that the Honourable Lady received threats for her views and from her removal from office, to the extent where the police had to be involved. Every member of this House should feel safe in whatever they say as long as it is within the law and is not effectively threatening violence. What is said in this House is of course completely protected, but it is outrageous that the Honourable Lady should've been placed in this position and can I commit to supporting freedom of speech? Absolutely Madam Deputy Speaker I can, that is what this this place exists for. That is what underpins our democracy. And much that I disagree with her on so many things, may I commend her courage in standing up for freedom speech and putting forward her views, clearly in a difficult and sensitive area but one where she has a right to be heard.