FIGHTING BACK AGAINST THE CRUSHING OF DISSENT:

A former presenter of One Man and His Dog has won £2,000 in compensation after being wrongly arrested on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred. . . .

Robin Page fought a five-year, one-man campaign to clear his name over remarks he made at a pro-hunting rally which led to him being held in a police cell.

Using the Data Protection Act, he obtained official documents which showed that there had been no grounds for prosecution before Gloucestershire Constabulary agreed the settlement for his wrongful detention.

“I believe I have scored a significant victory over the ludicrous and sinister politically-correct ‘hate crime’ culture that is currently doing so much to prevent free speech in this country,” he said.

His heinous remark? “If you are a black, vegetarian, Muslim, asylum-seeking, one-legged lesbian lorry driver, I want the same rights as you.” Seems admirably universalist to me.