A WRITER, Evelyn Beatrice Hall, once said: “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.”

Well, it’s not quite that bad, but poor old Boris has managed to upset a lot of people just recently with his comments.

With the hounds baying at his door, particularly Conservatives, it appears that we have a fine balance between what we can and cannot say, before you upset some corner of our society.

Despite a culture of free speech and democratic principles, we appear to be lurching towards a less tolerant and forgiving society on both sides of every argument.

Keith Isaac,

Byron Drive, York