Stephen Fry 'prepared to go to prison' -- again -- over Twitter joke trial

Stephen Fry is "prepared to go to prison" -- again -- to protect free speech on the Internet. Britain's most tech-obsessed national treasure has said he will continue to fight the so-called Twitter joke trial, even if it lands him in stir.

Fry is one of many celebrities backing Paul Chambers, a Twitter user convicted after tweeting "Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get your s*** together otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!" Fry said he would continue to fight for Chambers' cause even if it meant he was sent to prison himself.

Chambers tweets as @pauljchambers. He posted the offending tweet in January last year, and was arrested a week later. In May, he was found guilty of sending a public electronic message that was grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character, and his appeal failed in November. Chambers is currently planning to take the case to the High Court. 

The case has attracted attention because of the heavy-handed reaction of the Crown Prosecution Service, which deliberately went after Chambers with a little-used law because his tweet didn't breach the legislation specifically designed to deal with bomb threats.

Fry, who tweets as @stephenfry and has around 2.5 million followers, was speaking at a benefit comedy show for the continued legal fight. The show featured Al Murray's Pub Landlord, Rufus Hound and Katy Brand.

Chambers' lawyer, David Allen Green, and Father Ted writer and Twitter figurehead Graham Linehan also spoke at the gig, calling for the audience to resist any attempts to censor the Internet.

It wouldn't be Fry's first time behind bars. He spent three months in prison in the mid-70s, after having it away on his toes with a family friend's credit card, at the age of 17.