Racial and Religious Hatred Bill

I shall speak briefly from the perspective of three passionately held beliefs. First, I believe in the Labour party. As a Labour loyalist, I carry a pocket edition of the manifesto. However, it is the responsibility of all Labour Members to deliver the manifesto. We said that we would legislate to outlaw religious hatred but we also said that we would balance protection with tolerance and free speech. I suspect that the vote will be close and I plead with my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary to accept, even at this late stage, the House of Lords position, which delivers our manifesto pledge. I speak secondly as a practising Catholic and, thirdly, as a strong believer in free speech. For me, the debate turned on my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary’s interview on ““Today”” this morning. He said that there was a small problem with existing legislation and a gap to fill. Not unreasonably, he was asked to give one example from the past four years of a case in which existing law was deficient or that the Lords amendments would not cover. He attempted to give an example and I have been asking people about it all day. He cited a horrendous poster about the Muslim religion. There have been plenty of lawyers around the place to consult today. They include lawyers from the National Secular Society and the Christian Alliance, and those representing actors. I have even rung several friends who are lawyers but belong to none of those groups. All agreed that the example that the Under-Secretary cited was exactly analogous to the 2003 Norwood case, in which a similarly offensive poster featured. Prosecution occurred because a policeman saw it, a public order offence was brought and a conviction was secured. If we are to endure the deleterious consequences of the Bill, it is not too much to ask for examples. My hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) was not his normal confident self today. He said that we may live to regret the Bill. He also said that he did not believe that we would, but when such a defender of free speech says, even when backing the Government, that we may live to regret something, it gives me cause for concern. As a Catholic, I simply say that free speech is the best defence of any religion. My religion has been persecuted and has also persecuted people. Free speech is the best defence. Given the freedom of speech defences that the Government have included in the Bill, it is regrettable that they are stymied and reduced basically to saying, ““This is not an offence if it is not an offence.”” Such tautology is not good enough. I plead with my hon. Friends on the Front Bench to withdraw their objections to the Lords amendments, which satisfactorily fulfil the manifesto on which we stood for office.