Columnist upset with attempts to ban library books that deny the Holocaust

When Ken Livingstone started rabbiting on about how Hitler "supported Zionism", his ludicrous distortion of 20th century history was swiftly rubbished by anyone and everyone who could be bothered to open a history book. But warped sensitivities to the Second World War aren’t simply confined to the Labour Party, and a number of organisations have directed their attention onto the equally spurious doctrine of Holocaust denial.

Just last month, Google hired a team of 10,000 contractors to trawl through the internet and flag up incorrect accounts of the Holocaust. Worried about people getting hold of fictitious literature, Amazon recently resolved not to sell three books spouting nonsense about the existence of the Holocaust.

As if Holocaust denial wasn’t being adequately slammed, a number of campaigners have started calling for university libraries to remove literature on Holocaust denial from open shelves and cart them off to the stacks. Dr Irene Lancaster, a former teaching fellow of Jewish history at Manchester University, has called for the university to remove Holocaust denial literature to areas where they can be only accessed by "accredited scholars". Former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has also weighed in the proposals, suggesting that trigger warning-style labels be placed on the books.