Mobile phone company Orange has suspended its community affairs manager after he posted what he termed a “lefty lexicon” on the blog site ConservativeHome which includes a description of Islamophobics as “anyone who objects to having their transport blown up on the way to work.”
Since Inigo Wilson posted his diatribe on what he sees as the abuse of language by “lefties” and especially the “rights industry”, Orange has received a flood of complaints from customers.
A campaign against him was mounted on the website of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPACUK). Yesterday it emerged that Mr Wilson has been suspended pending an internal Orange investigation. A spokesman for MPACUK said Mr Wilson’s views were extremely unhelpful at a time when British Muslims are increasingly being subjected to bigotry and prejudice, and bordered on racist.
Over at Harry’s Place, David T “on balance” comes out in defence of Inigo Wilson: “I hope that Mr Wilson does not lose his job … to the extent that free expression is the principle at stake, the content of the speech is largely an irrelevant consideration.” Can you imagine David T taking a similarly “balanced” view if Wilson had been accused of anti-semitism?