IT seems we have become a country with no freedom of speech other than one way. Should we have an opinion which certain groups do not like, we are gagged.

Surely we can’t be forced by law to love and like those we can’t agree with? Alexander Ogilvy speaks for many and has a right to say so without The Press apologising for him. York Pride march should be banned.

When Margaret Thatcher died the council refused to fly the union flag half mast, yet that same council flew the Gay Pride flag on the Mansion House. Outrageous.

Mr and Mrs Wardell, Malton Road, York

Mrs J Rush, Faber Street, York

EDITOR’S NOTE: Of course Mr Ogilvy has a right to express his opinion. The Press apologised for the fact that, by publishing his letter unedited, we allowed him to do so in a way which unreasonably caused offence to others. Under the Editor’s Code of Practice, we have a duty to avoid prejudicial or pejorative references to an individual’s race, colour, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical or mental illness or disability. As a newspaper, we do not agree with his views but we would defend his right to express them as long as he did so in a manner which is acceptable in contemporary society.