Mantel defends Thatcher story | The Bookseller

Robert Sharp, head of campiagns at English PENSupported by eminent writers, this is the English branch of International Pen, which has centres in nearly 100 countries. It fights for freedom of expression and against political censorship. It campaigns for writers harassed, imprisoned and sometimes murdered for their views. http://www.englishpen.org/ said: "'If depicting a murder in literature were equivalent to inciting murder, then Lord Bell's colleagues Lord Dobbs (Miuchael Dobbs), Baroness James (P D James) and Baroness Rendell (Ruth Rendell) would all need to be investigated by the police too. It is most disturbing when politicians and commentators in a democracy start calling for censorship on the grounds of offence or bad taste. Not only does it undermine the right to freedom of expression in the UK, it sends a very poor signal to politicians in authoritarian regimes who sue, threaten and sometimes kill writers and journalists for satirising or criticising the political class.'