Rishi Sunak has intervened in a row between Kemi Badenoch and actor David Tennant, saying the Doctor Who star is “the problem”.
Tennant suggested at the British LGBT Awards last week that he wanted a world where the equalities minister “doesn’t exist any more”, and said she should “shut up”.
The prime minister posted on X, external that freedom of speech was the “most powerful feature of our democracy”, adding: “If you’re calling for women to shut up and wishing they didn’t exist, you are the problem.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told broadcasters he “wouldn’t have engaged the way he (Tennant) did,” adding that “robust” discussions should be respectful.
Freedom of speech is protection from legal restrictions, not protection from criticism from David Tennant