Racial and Religious Hatred Bill

The word is unnecessary. I have made it plain that I do not seek to argue the new construct put forward by the noble Lords, Lord Hunt and Lord Lester, but I am sure they will say that if their amendment were to stand, all of this would fall away. We will have to debate these issues more keenly, particularly when we know whether the Government are able to produce any further thinking or whether we will maintain our current position. So, for tonight, we will have what some may consider a not entirely fruitful debate because we are not dealing with a situation that is now the position in which we find ourselves. The debate is much more theoretical in nature.