Speaking in Holyrood, he said: “An arts venue in Edinburgh was awarded £608,000 of taxpayers’ money, and then it went on to ban, to censor and to cancel our very own Deputy First Minister, asserting that she was somehow a threat to the safety and wellbeing of their staff.
“Will the Scottish Government unequivocally condemn this decision, but even more important, prevent it from ever happening again by making it clear that any grant of taxpayers’ cash will be clawed back from offenders – otherwise the government is sending out a message that Scotland is where censorship rules.”
Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said he was a “strong supporter” of freedom of expression but stressed the “arm’s-length relationship” between Creative Scotland and ministers.
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He noted that a review of the funding body was already under way, and suggested Mr Ewing submit his views to it.
The row erupted after Summerhall Arts, which took over programming at the former veterinary school site earlier this year, apologised to performers for an “oversight” that allowed Ms Forbes to appear at Unspun Live, a Herald-run political interview series.
In an email to artists, the venue said it “should have considered the likelihood” of Ms Forbes being booked and the “understandable upset it would cause”.
Summerhall added that all proceeds from the event would be donated to an LGBTQ+ charity and pledged to develop new inclusion and wellbeing policies “to prevent this from happening again”.
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Ms Forbes, a devout Christian whose views on gay marriage, abortion and trans rights were heavily criticised during her SNP leadership campaign, said she “fervently” believed in free speech. “Any effort to cancel people, especially politicians, undermines democracy,” she said.
Robert McDowell, founder of Summerhall but no longer involved in its running, told The Herald the apology was “idiotic” and “nonsense”. He said: “Of course, these things are up for debate.
“What are the arts if they don’t allow freedom of speech? Whoever compiled that statement was just addressing their friends. It’s part of a cancel culture way of thinking.”
Creative Scotland previously said they were in dialogue with the charity “to understand recent events and the steps they are taking to address concerns”.