He was banned because Lord Ahmed believed at the time that it would be used as an excuse - that is by the BNP and radical Islamists to stir people up.
Why shouldn't people be "stirred up"? Isn't being stirred up a right in Britain? How many other ideas, books, etc, are being banned in the UK because people might be 'stirred up'?
"He was already awaiting trial in the Netherlands. We have a sensitive situation with our Muslim population at the moment, not least because some people like to see them all as radicals and terrorists when this is a very small section".
Was he afraid that these Muslims in the "sensitive situation" would be stirred up? And if it is a "very small section" what does it matter if they are stirred up? Are they stirred up that easily?
"The film is offensive and is rather like a cartoon kind of YouTube film. It is not real"".
Actually it is real. It is real Muslims saying real things and is not a work of fiction. Instead it only quotes Muslims and the Koran. If it is offensive then you should take your complaint to the Muslim leaders or the people who made the comments perhaps, just as some rather brave people, like Mr. Wilders, are doing, and at great risk to their lives.
so what I am wondering is more what you are making all the fuss for
Ever since the Magna Carta of 1215 the British have been know for their contribution to free speech in the world, free inquiry, and their contribution to the world in spreading these concepts. Speakers Corner in Hyde Park became an international symbol of free speech and the right of an English person, no matter what their social status, to speak their minds.
So when the British government decides to bar a visiting politician from a neighbouring country, and a fellow democracy, from showing a movie only containing quotes, then that is a cause for concern throughout the free world. What others are asking themselves is "Could it happen here and What can we do to prevent whats happened in the UK?
Trying to stop things from being "stirred up" was what Enoch Powell was attempting four decades ago, but obviously to no avail. It's a littlle late now to try and stop it, no matter how much you might try to apppease this "very small section".
This 'very small section' are the ones who will try and kill you, and that's why Britons are fearful enough to ban free speech and anything that might cause offense. Right?