BRITAIN: Articles of religious faith and "freedom of expression" would not be affected by the proposed new offence of incitement to religious hatred, British home secretary Charles Clarke assured MPs yesterday.
Mr Clarke was speaking at the start of yesterday's Second Reading debate on the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, which seeks to honour Labour's election manifesto commitment to Britain's Muslim leaders.
With Jews and Sikhs already covered by race hate laws, the new offence is intended to give equal protection to all faiths by essentially extending Britain's race-hate laws to cover belief.
Mr Clarke told Labour's Diane Abbot that the controversial measure - now making its third appearance before parliament - did not amount to "a blasphemy law for Islam". Rather, he maintained, it represented an attempt to fill a gap in existing law and to remove an anomaly whereby Jews and Sikhs were protected while other faith groups were not.Told by Liberal Democrat MP Evan Harris that the new law would have a "chilling effect" on freedom of speech, Mr Clarke replied the "chill" that had to be removed was from the person being subject to hatred on the basis of his or her belief.
Dismissing "misconceptions" about the government's intentions, Mr Clarke assured MPs the new legislation would not curb artistic freedom to poke fun at religions, and listed a series of safeguards he believed would deter "vexatious" complaints to the police. Prosecutions under the new law would require the approval of the attorney general.
"This bill is about hatred and incitement to hatred," the Home secretary told the House: "It is about the nasty and extreme behaviour which drives people to hate others - and sometimes as the recent desecration of Jewish graves shows - to turn that hatred against people and property. It is about behaviour that destroys individuals' lives and sets one community against another."
Mr Clarke told DUP leader the Rev Ian Paisley that the Bill could not be used against people quoting from the Bible or the Koran, and assured Conservative MPs it would not be used either against "street preachers."
However the Conservative front bench said the proposed legislation crucially failed either to define "religion" or the "intent" to cause religious hatred which would lead to prosecution. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are opposing the bill on the grounds that it will disproportionately curtail freedom of expression, worsen community relations, and "create uncertainty as to what words or behaviour are lawful" .
Mr Clarke indicated he would be open to clarification and amendment during further stages of the bill. Eight of the DUP's nine MPs were expected to oppose the bill, which will apply only to England and Wales. Northern Ireland has its own law. The SDLP told The Irish Times they too had reservations about the Bill, and were not planning to take part in last night's Commons vote.