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May 9, 2007updated 17 May 2007 11:30am

South Wales Post editor defends BNP advert

By Press Gazette

The editor of the South Wales Post, Spencer Feeney, has defended his decision to publish an ad for the BNP in his paper despite protests from journalists.

The paper has been inundated with readers' letters from race relations groups and other organisations including the TGWU, Displaced People in Action and Unison, condemning the decision.

The letters were published over a page on Friday, and Feeney wrote a leader on Saturday.

Under the headline "Freedom comes with a price", he wrote: "The simple answer is that the advert is legal and the BNP is a legitimate party, in as much as they are allowed to put forward candidates for election.

"I believe that by not doing the easy thing I did the right thing. This newspaper has a long and proud history of championing freedom of opinion without fear or favour. That freedom is often inconvenient, giving a platform to those with who you disagree.

"It is sometimes painful providing a platform for opinions you find deeply offensive. But a freedom that is extended only to those with who we agree is no freedom at all."

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