Racial and Religious Hatred Bill

I will not give way, if the hon. Gentleman will forgive me. Why are the Government introducing the Bill? The hon. Member for The Wrekin (Mark Pritchard) seemed to suggest that it was purely a cynical move to get Muslim votes, but I do not believe that that is the case at all. The Government might be misguided and mistaken, but that is not my view. Unlike what happened nearly 40 years ago, the Bill might not be successful, but the Government have the genuine motive of trying to protect the interests of a group of people who have been harassed because of their religion. The Government believe that those people should have the same protection as that given to Jews and Hindus. I now turn to the new clause tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Dr. Wright). Despite what I have just said—I hope that this does not contradict what I have just said in any way—I want the Government to make it clear, even if they cannot do so in the Bill, that if the Bill is passed into law, as I hope it will be, we will not find ourselves in a position in which it will not be possible to criticise religion. I do not want that situation to arise and I hope that Home Office Ministers share my sentiments. Rowan Atkinson has made some valid points. I understand his concerns that there might be a danger that the sort of material often used by artists like him could be declared unlawful as a result of the Bill.