Racial and Religious Hatred Bill

moved Amendment No. 1:"Page 1, line 4, at end insert—" ““(   )   Nothing in Part 3A of that Act (inserted by the Schedule to this Act) is to be read or given effect in a way which prevents or restricts expressions of dislike of— (a)   any religion, or (b)   any person’s lack of religious belief.”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, this speech will be shorter and less rumbustious than the two previous speeches that I have made on this issue. I see the Leader of the Opposition nodding contentedly. I would encourage noble Lords opposite not to spend too much time examining the exact effect of my amendments, because they are probing amendments. Noble Lords will recall that the House agreed a number of amendments in Committee on 25 October which fundamentally changed the structure and the content of the Bill, including the introduction of a new freedom of expression exemption. In response to those amendments, the noble Baroness, Lady Scotland, generously and helpfully said that she would consider the issue further. The purpose of these amendments, therefore, is to find out the current status of the Government’s consideration of the Bill. First, will the Minister explain to the House at what specific areas of the Bill the Government are looking? Secondly, with whom are the Government discussing these issues? Finally, when does she expect the Government to be able to return to the House with concrete proposals on the way forward? I hope the Minister might feel able to give the House a response to these questions early in the debate. I beg to move.