Racial and Religious Hatred Bill

I think that the problem with the Bill is that it will give a weapon to every malevolent who wishes to browbeat other groups that might criticise him. Many people would disagree with the remarks made by Sir Iqbal Sacranie, but they were clearly honestly made and part of his belief. His fate in the past few weeks—the fact that he was left in a position of uncertainty for several days while police investigated his remarks—is, I am afraid, something of which we shall see a great deal when the Bill is on the statute book. The Bill will be a weapon in the hands of every extremist group, whether religious or secular, with which to browbeat its opponents. I must tell the Minister that I do not believe that any amount of guidance will cure that problem.