Who's to blame?

Any Questions - Radio 4 tonight and repeated on Saturday at 13:10 - listen to Denis MacShane waffle and not like being cornered by Jonathan Dimbleby, Janet Street Porter and Jo Swinson and definitely not apologising or calling for Gordon Brown to apologise over the regulation of the Banks.

You can also hear Denis MacShane have to defend Jacqui Smith's housing arrangements and waffle. He does not actually defend the £24,000 a year for a room in Peckham and nobody challenges him.

And then they turned to Geert Wilders:
Janet Street Porter - banning lead to far more media coverage than just letting him in, as is always the case. Banning is bad, free speech is good; "let him speak" - polite applause
Denis MacShane - "There is right not to be offended" - He does point out that nobody tried to ban Jean Marie Le Pen who is an anti-Semite. Denis MacShane stands with Voltaire - slightly less polite applause
Jo Swinson - Agrees with Denis MacShane and thinks that free speech ends when it incites violence. She describes the film as "vile", was the film vile or the words and actions contained with in it. Apparently you can make such a film from any text and the film's claims are rubbish - polite applause
David Davis - Does bring up the 10,000 Muslims on the street comment, public debate is the answer - loudest applause.

Audience hand vote - unanimous (bar one) view it was the wrong decision taken by Jacqui Smith.


Listen to the show here or repeated on Radio 4 on Saturday at 13:10, maybe call in to Any Answers after the Saturday repeat.