Cartoonists have a right to free speech

I’m no fan of Steve Bell, the Guardian cartoonist. I can’t say I’ve ever laughed at one of his squibs, which are witless and crude. Some would call him ‘fearless’, but he just seems cruel and over the top to me. When the Guardian finally puts him out to grass, which surely won’t be long, he will disappear into the inkwell of history. But having said all that, I would defend to the death his right to produce his tasteless cartoons, as well as the right of his newspaper to publish them.

Last week, the Guardian printed a Steve Bell caricature of Priti Patel sitting next to Boris in the House of Commons that was widely condemned as ‘racist’. The reason? He depicted her with horns on her head and a ring through her nose, which many saw as a derogatory reference to her Indian heritage. ‘This cartoon is offensive on every level,’ tweeted the British Tamil Conservatives.