Is Virgin's Decision to Not Stock the 'Daily Mail' Really Censorship?

In 1997, Marks & Spencer decided to only stock free range eggs and to remove any battery eggs from their shelves. They were not criticised for failing to offer customers a fair choice between hens that had been cruelly treated and those that hadn't. They were not accused of denying the rights of hens who live their short lives in torturous conditions to have their eggs sold in Britain's most prestigious supermarket.

Yesterday, Virgin Trains announced that they were no longer going to sell the Daily Mail on trains because of the paper's views on fundamental rights for LGBT people, Muslims and migrants, many of whom make up the staff and customers on Virgin Trains. They were roundly accused of censorship, mostly by those on the right, but also by centrist Blair-fluffer David Aaronovitch.

The Mail themselves compared the decision to censorship, saying:

But Virgin Trains is not a library of record; it is not even a library. It is a train company. Like Marks & Spencer, it is allowed to remove products it disagrees with on an ethical basis.

The Mail has printed hundreds of front pages demonising migrants, Muslims, travellers, trans people and other minority groups. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance blamed the "hate speech and intolerance" in the paper for rising racist violence in the UK. It also said a trans primary school teacher killed herself after "a huge amount of monstering and harassment" by the paper. Wikipedia has banned the Daily Mail as a source on the site, citing its "poor fact checking, sensationalism and flat-out fabrication". It's not just another right-wing newspaper; it's hate speech and lies. It's a battery chicken laying its eggs on our newsstands.

If someone lies about you, demonises you or turns your neighbours against you, it is reasonable to not allow them into your home. The majority of Liverpool newsagents haven't sold The Sun for over a generation, after the lies that paper spread about the behaviour of Liverpool FC fans at Hillsborough. Few, even those who have no problem with The Sun, disagree with that decision. But because migrants, trans people and gay people are diverse, and live in every city, and take any random train, they can't make the leap that the principle is the same.

Is it hypocritical of Richard Branson – a crony capitalist who's made his fortune by winning big government contracts in transport, health and banking – to criticise the political stance of the Mail, even after he has taken millions away from hospital budgets after Virgin sued the NHS for £82 million when they failed to win a healthcare contract? It is. Is it just a bit of virtue signalling so that Virgin can look responsible before the next multimillion pound contract comes up? Probably. Does that mean it was the wrong decision? It does not.

For those worried about the lack of access to the Mail on Britain's railways, it should come as some relief that every WHSmith and trackside coffeeshop, at every station, will still stock the paper. Indeed, in large parts of the country, it's often all smaller shops stock. That must be censorship.

@samwolfson