With phone hacking, injunctions, super-injunctions, libel, the Arab Spring, Twitter privacy and Google in China all high on the public agenda, the issue of Free Speech – and its limits – has never been more pertinent.
On July 5th at The Royal Institution on Albemarle Street, W1, five fantastic speakers gave their perspectives on and around the issue of free speech as part of the first Independent Voices live event. Johann Hari, Max Mosley, Ruby Wax, Evgeny Lebedev and Charlotte Harris all spoke to a packed auditorium.
Watch Johann Hari's speech above, and those of the rest of the panel at the links below:
Charlotte Harris
Evgeny Lebedev
Max Mosley
Ruby Wax
5x15 is an innovative format that features five speakers talking about their ideas and passions in – as the name suggests – 15 minutes. For this special Independent Voices 5x15, people who have been involved in the conversation about Free Speech took to the stage telling their stories and setting out their diverse positions.
More videos of speeches from the event will follow soon.
Follow Independent Voices on Twitter for details of future events
Panel biographies
Johann Hari is an award-winning journalist. He is a columnist for the Independent and has reported from all around the world; Iraq, the Middle East, Venezuela and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He has interviewed many of the world’s important leaders and prominent thinkers and makes regular appearances as a commentator on CNN, NBC and the BBC. He graduated from King’s College, Cambridge with a double First in Social and Political Sciences in 2001, beginning his career as a staff reporter for the New Statesman in the same year, and released his first book God Save the Queen? in 2003. He is a Senior Contributing Editor for Attitude, Britain’s bestselling gay magazine, and has won numerous awards for journalism, most notably becoming the youngest winner of the George Orwell Prize in 2008.
Max Mosley is the former president of the FIA who brought a case against the UK's privacy laws in the European Court of Human Rights after winning a case against the News of the World. From 1993 to 2009, Mosley was president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), based in Paris and consisting of the national motoring clubs of 132 countries. He read physics at Oxford and graduated in 1961. He was called to the English Bar in 1964 and practised as a barrister for five years in London. He was a successful amateur racing driver and in 1969, he co-founded March Engineering, which quickly became one of the world's leading racing car manufacturers. Mosley is the son of Sir Oswald Mosley and Diana Mitford.
Ruby Wax is one of Britain’s best-known and best-loved TV presenters and interviewers. Throughout her long career, she has broken all the rules and conventions and created some of television's most memorable moments. She became known as a candid and inspired interviewer. More recently she has campaigned on issues of mental health, and completed an MSc in Psychotherapy.
Evgeny Lebedev is proprietor and chairman of The Independent titles and Evening Standard. He lives in London and is an entrepreneur and philanthropist with business interests in restaurants, hotels, publishing, property, film and fashion. The Raisa Gorbachev Foundation, a charity he founded in 2006 with Mikhail Gorbachev, has raised millions for children suffering with cancer in Russia. Under his tenure the London Evening Standard has gone free, and The Independent has launched a new quality daily title, i.
Charlotte Harris is a Partner in Mishcon Private. She is a media law specialist with a particular focus on pre and post publication advice, injunctions, defamation, privacy, harassment and unlawful interceptions into the telephones and correspondence of those in the public eye. Charlotte's client base includes MPs, celebrities, PRs, sports agents, sportspeople and individuals who have found themselves at the centre of media scrutiny. Charlotte has been fundamental in the exposure of the phone hacking scandal and continues to act for many clients in relation to this issue. Recent notable cases include Max Clifford v NGN and Glenn Mulcaire, Donald v N'tuli (C of A) and Perroncel v NGN. Charlotte joined the Firm in March 2011 from JMW where she was Head of Media. She was listed in the Lawyer's Hot 100 in January 2011, and regularly appears on television and radio discussing media related issues. She also writes an occasional commentary column in the Independent on Sunday and comments on relevant case law on the Inforrm blog.
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