Letter: Slippery slope

I would like to congratulate Michael Fry on his excellent piece on Alex Salmond's knee jerking on the issue of sectarianism (Perspective, 26 May).

The sight of the man who decided to release the UK's worst mass murderer on compassionate grounds calling for people who have done nothing more than cause offence to be jailed for five years is quite nauseating.

Even as a free speech libertarian, I accept that free speech has its limits (eg shouting "fire" in a crowded theatre or incitement to violence), but those limits should not be based on whether or not someone is offended.

When the leader of a country starts to dictate what is and is not "criminally offensive", then that country is on a very slippery slope.

Rob Miller

Bracken Avenue

Falkirk