Mick Hartley

A Times report – Royal Society of Literature chiefs quit as diversity drive implodes. Apart from efforts to make the society more inclusive, with predictable results…

Prior to recent “inclusivity initiatives”, would-be fellows could be nominated only if they had published two works of “outstanding literary merit”.

One prominent writer, Don Paterson, said however that one new fellow appeared to have “published a single poetry pamphlet”. Another, Amanda Craig, said that while previously it had been seen by some as being “a bit too pale, stale and male”, it had now become so diluted that it was “no longer the kind of distinction that it was”.

…there's the Salman Rushdie business. The society refused to issue a statement of support after Rushdie was stabbed, on the grounds that this “might give offence”. They couldn't take sides, apparently, between an author and his Islamist would-be assassin. Those who wanted Rushdie killed might be offended.

Hadley Freeman had a good piece about this at the time. 

This still strikes me as one of the all-time lows of British woke "inclusive" culture.