Racial and Religious Hatred Bill

I have one or two concerns that are more or less expressed in new clause 4, but if I had any doubts in my mind about the necessity for this measure they would be overruled by the present situation. Clearly, at a time when—this has unfortunately already occurred over the weekend—some hate-mongers are trying to brand the whole Muslim community as being responsible for the atrocities that occurred last Thursday, the law needs to be changed to provide protection. I understand some of the concerns—I shall express one or two myself—but when I listen particularly to Opposition Members telling us what frightful consequences will occur, it reminds me, as I have mentioned before, that when we were dealing with incitement to race hatred almost 40 year ago, we were repeatedly told that the law was all right as it stood, that civil liberties should not be undermined by what was proposed, and that free speech was absolutely essential. I come back to this point: as a result of what was passed nearly 40 years ago against a good deal of opposition, are we less free as a country? Have our civil liberties been undermined? Have special privileges been given to any particular minority, be that Jewish or Hindu? It is nonsense to suggest that that is the case, so I make the point that some of the fears about the Bill are irrational. They are no more likely to come about than anything that was predicted as a result of the legislation passed in the 1960s.