4 days ago
Kate Forbes ban venue forced into a humiliating U-turn after public funds threat
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue at the centre of the Kate Forbes cancel culture row has performed a dramatic U-turn after threats to its public funding.
Summerhall Arts, which was recently awarded £608,000 in grants, climbed down over an apparent ban on deputy First Minister because of her gender critical views.
Bosses had claimed her appearance last week in a political talk was an 'oversight' and gave a 'guarantee' it wouldn't happen again.
But after their statement was condemned by senior SNP figures, including ex First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the charity chiefs said no politician would be banned after all.
Chief executive Sam Gough told the Mail: 'No one is banned from appearing on the stages. Summerhall is a collection of things in this building, including stages and venues. We have not banned anyone.'
Mr Gough's uncaveated comments went further than a statement issued earlier in the day by the organisation, which put a pre-condition on future appearances.
It said there would be no ban on anyone 'assuming they adhere to our zero tolerance regarding discrimination'.
The damage limitation exercise followed an outcry over censorship with both the Government and arts quango Creative Scotland appearing to wash their hands of it.
Ministers said they had no role in 'individual funding decisions', while Creative Scotland, which gave Summerhall £608,302 in January, claimed it had no part in 'programming decisions'.
The Scottish Conservatives said both were missing the point - that taxpayers' cash was supporting an organisation that appeared to be breaking the law by stifling free speech.
A condition of Summerhall's state funding that it must 'comply with all applicable laws'.
Ms Forbes, a devout Christian who opposed the SNP's botched gender self-ID reforms, spoke at the venue last week.
Summerhall apologised to performers just hours ahead of her appearance as it was concerned about 'the safety and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ artists, staff and audiences by attracting those who share her 'views' and said 'we have work to do to repair the damage'.
They even provided a 'designated relaxed space' or 'safe room' said to be 'terrified' of the 5ft 2in Skye MSP.
The row coincided with controversies over gender critical authors being excluded from the state-backed Edinburgh Book Festival and a best-selling book of gender critical essays, The Women Who Wouldn't Wheest, being pulled from a National Library of Scotland exhibition.
Finance Secretary Shona Robison called Summerhall's reaction 'unwise and unnecessary', while Ms Sturgeon said she didn't agree with cancel culture or the venue's actions.
The Scottish Tories demanded Summerhall's public funding be cut for potentially discriminating against people because of their beliefs.
In 2023, the Stand comedy club had to back down after trying to cancel a Fringe show by then SNP MP Joanna Cherry KC because of her gender critical views, admitting its original decision was 'unfair and constituted unlawful discrimination'.
Last year Creative Scotland axed £84,555 of public funding from the live arts project Rein after a plan to include real sex acts was deemed a breach of contract.
Bowing to pressure yesterday, the venue said 'no-one is banned from the Summerhall building or by Summerhall Arts' and it would 'not be banning politicians or anyone else'.
It was a marked departure from its message to artists eight days earlier, which an insider downplayed as merely an 'email to performers', not an official statement.
Scottish Tory equalities spokeswoman Tess White said there had been too much 'craven buck-passing' by the Government and Creative Scotland.
She said: 'This latest clear-as-mud statement from Summerhall just underlines the need for SNP ministers to step in and order the venue to get its act together.
'Summerhall's shameful decision to suppress free speech didn't occur in a vacuum.
'For years the SNP have been pushing their reckless and unlawful self-ID policy on Scotland's public bodies and pandering to gender extremists.
'As a result, organisations funded by taxpayers think it's okay to silence those who have the moral courage and legal vindication to stand up for women's rights. It's totally unacceptable.
'John Swinney and Creative Scotland, which has form for financing dodgy projects, should remove funding from any group or venue that blocks legitimate free speech.'
It emerged yesterday that Summerhall Arts had known since April that Ms Forbes would appear in an event run by the Herald newspaper but did not object.
Just 48 hours before the event, managers raised fears about 'hate speech'.
SNP Culture Secretary Angus Roberson yesterday told the Herald he was 'a strong supporter of the freedom of speech and of expression at our festivals'.
He said: 'It will not be easy all of the time to please everybody.
'But I think keeping an eye on the principle of freedom of expression and the expression of different views is an established and important part of our national life.'
Mr Robertson is the MSP for Edinburgh Central, which is home to many cultural organisations, and he said he does not make decisions about their funding to avoid conflicts of interest.
He has specifically 'recused himself from decisions in relation to Summerhall', which are taken by employment minister Richard Lochhead instead.
A Creative Scotland spokesman said: 'Creative Scotland does not play a role in the programming decisions of funded organisations.'
A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'Creative Scotland is an arms-length funding body and Ministers have no role in individual funding decisions.'
