John Swinney criticises Edinburgh Fringe venue over Kate Forbes cancel culture row

A cancel culture row broke out after Kate Forbes was interviewed on stage at Summerhall Arts earlier this month.

The venue later described the booking as an “oversight” and said it would be writing “robust, proactive inclusion and wellbeing policies that prevent this from happening again”.

The Deputy First Minister is a devout Christian and a member of the socially conservative Free Church of Scotland, and has been criticised for her stance on gay marriage, abortion and trans rights.

Asked about the row, Mr Swinney told journalists: “I think there is no reason why Kate Forbes shouldn’t be able to speak at any venue in Scotland.”

Pushed on Summerhall’s actions, he said: “I don’t think that’s appropriate.”

The First Minister made the comments after appearing at an event hosted by the Enlighten think tank in Edinburgh.

Summerhall Arts, which has received hundreds of thousands of pounds in public funding, has since U-turned on its position, with chief executive Sam Gough saying: “No one is banned from appearing... We have not banned anyone.”

Ms Forbes spoke at the venue on August 7 as part of a series of events organised by The Herald newspaper.

In an email sent to artists that day, Summerhall said: “At this point, our main concern is that cancelling the event could pose significant additional risk to the safety and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ artists, staff and audiences by attracting those who share Kate Forbes’s views outside of these walls to Summerhall, and as such the interview will take place as scheduled, with all proceeds from the event donated to a local LGBTQ+ charity, the amount and the recipient will be published as soon as possible.

“While the event is happening, staff will be on hand to help anyone who may wish to make use of a designated relaxed space.

“We do not believe LGBTQ+ rights, nor their existence, is up for debate. We recognise that the LGBTQ+ community make up a significant proportion of our artists, audiences and staff, and we have work to do to repair the damage from this oversight.

“At this stage, we can guarantee that we will be writing robust, proactive inclusion and wellbeing policies that prevent this from happening again.”

Ms Forbes has said she “fervently” believes in freedom of speech, adding: “Any effort to cancel people, especially politicians, undermines democracy.

“Many people attended the Herald event and it is important that we could freely discuss and debate matters in a respectful manner.

“I respect and acknowledge the fact that, in a liberal democracy, there are people who will agree with me and others who will disagree with me.

“That is all the more reason to create events where the audience and journalists can question politicians openly, as the Herald did.”

Last week, Nicola Sturgeon, who appointed Ms Forbes as finance secretary while she was first minister, also criticised Summerhall.

“I don’t agree with cancel culture and I don’t agree with that,” she told journalists.