Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

moved Amendment No. 144B: 144B: After Clause 129, insert the following new Clause— ““Blasphemy and blasphemous libel (1) The offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel under the common law of England and Wales are abolished. (2) In section 1 of the Criminal Libel Act 1819 (60 Geo. 3 & 1 Geo. 4 c. 8) (orders for seizure of copies of blasphemous or seditious libel) the words ““any blasphemous libel, or”” are omitted. (3) In sections 3 and 4 of the Law of Libel Amendment Act 1888 (c. 64) (privileged matters) the words ““blasphemous or”” are omitted. (4) Subsections (2) and (3) (and the related repeals in Schedule 38) extend to England and Wales only.”” The noble Baroness said: It is always rather alarming to bring forward an amendment that is looked forward to so avidly in your Lordships’ House, and it falls to me to introduce it on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government—the department that promotes social cohesion and matters of faith. Amendment No. 144B and consequential Amendments Nos. 180D and 184A fulfil the commitment made on 9 January, at Report stage in another place, by my ministerial colleague Maria Eagle that, following a short period of consultation, we would abolish the common law criminal offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel. The noble Lord, Lord Lester of Herne Hill, has added his name to the amendment. Unfortunately, he cannot be with us today but I pay tribute to the work that he has done over the years, particularly in the JCHR, on this continuing and long debate. Indeed, that is the burden of much of what I want to say: it has been a very long debate. The Government are of the view that it is now time that Parliament came to a settled conclusion on this matter for two key reasons. First, the law has fallen into disuse and therefore runs the risk of bringing the law as a whole into disrepute. Secondly, we now have new legislation to protect individuals on the grounds of religion and belief. In setting out these reasons, I will also aim to reflect on the words of the most reverend Primates the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in their joint letter to my ministerial colleague, Hazel Blears. They say: "““Having signalled for more than 20 years that the blasphemy laws could, in the right context, be abolished, the Church is not going to oppose abolition now””—" with the rider— "““provided we can be assured that provisions are in place to afford the necessary protection to individuals and to society””." I shall address those points in some detail as I go through the argument. First, it is important to point out that the blasphemy offences are offences of strict liability—that is, the intention to commit an act of blasphemy is not required. That contrasts with the incitement to religious hatred offence, where an intention to stir up religious hatred needs to be demonstrated. All that matters for an offence to have been committed under the blasphemy laws is that a person published material that is the subject of prosecution. It follows that a person might commit such an act inadvertently, but it would not be a defence in law to say that there had been no intention to be blasphemous. I believe that it is crystal clear that the offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel are unworkable in today’s society because they do not protect the individual or groups of people, they do not protect our fundamental rights—indeed, they may conflict with them—and they do not protect the sacred. That last point is very much reinforced by the recent judgment in the Jerry Springer case. I again quote the Archbishops’ letter to Hazel Blears: "““The real purpose of the offences is the preservation of society from civil strife, rather than the protection of the divine or any particular religious beliefs””." I also remind noble Lords that this is the fifth time that this House has considered this issue. It was previously considered in 2005 during the passage of the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, in 2002 during the Religious Offences Bill, in 2001 during the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Bill, and in 1995 during the Blasphemy (Abolition) Bill. At each stage, Parliament has had the same information before it and has been able to draw on the results of serious parliamentary scrutiny. That the law has fallen into disuse is evident from the fact that there have been no public prosecutions in almost 90 years—since 1922—and it has been more than 30 years since the last private prosecution. In fact, coming new to this debate, I asked my officials to go back a little further. There was hardly a rash of prosecutions before 1922. I have been able to find only two cases. The first was in 1676, when a Mr Taylor was made to stand in the pillory in several places and had to pay a 1,000 marks fine for, "““utterly diverse blasphemous expressions horrible to hear””." Hard on the heels of that event, there was one in 1841, when a Mr Haslam, in a pamphlet castigating the clergy of all denominations, described the Old Testament as ““wretched stuff”” and a ““disgrace to orang-utans””. That was 20 years before the great Oxford debates on belief, religion and science. I am assured by my noble friend Lady Hollis, who knows about these things, that that case was probably something to do with the secularist movement and the Chartists. I am sure that she is right. Its author was described as a random idiot and he was held guilty of blasphemous libel and of appealing to the wild and improper feelings of the human mind—I suggest, anticipating notions of civil strife. It was 80 years before the law was invoked again. I am making this excursion into history not to be flippant—far from it—but simply to illustrate that, when we say that the law has fallen into disuse, perhaps we should really say that the law has never been found to be usable. The recognition that the offences appear to be moribund was reinforced by the High Court’s decision on 5 December 2007 in the case of Stephen Green v City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court and others, which was a private prosecution for blasphemous libel. The court’s primary judgment was that the Theatres Act 1968 and the Broadcasting Act 1990 now already prevent the prosecution of a theatre, the BBC or another broadcaster for blasphemous libel. Noble Lords will know that this is part of a long and complex history. Over 20 years ago, the first recommendations were made to change the law, when, in 1985, the Law Commission considered the scope for reform of the law in this area. Since then, Parliament has made its own inquiries. In 2003, the Select Committee on Religious Offences, on which the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, was a leading light, spent a year gathering evidence. Its report contains an extensive discussion of the legislative options available. When the Joint Committee on Human Rights reported on this Bill in January, it concluded that, "““the continued existence of the offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel can no longer be justified, and we are confident that this would also, in today's conditions, be the view of the English courts under the Human Rights Act and the Strasbourg Court under the ECHR””." As the JCHR makes clear in its report, this was on the grounds of both an ongoing risk of violations of the right to freedom of expression and of the right not to be discriminated against, on grounds of religion, in the enjoyment of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. I certainly understand some of the concerns that have been expressed and the deeply felt beliefs of many noble Lords. However, I hope that the Committee will agree that 22 years of gathering evidence—four cases in 300 years—and debating the issues and implications, as we have done time and again, suggest that the steps that we are taking today to respond to the words of the most reverend Primates’ letter are not taken lightly; they are being taken after long consideration. The question why we are doing this in this Bill and this context also merits an answer, particularly in the light of the questions raised by the most reverend Primates in their letter in relation to the recent High Court judgment on 5 December. That set out very clearly that the offence of blasphemous libel set the bar for prosecution at public disorder: "““There is therefore ample basis for the common ground before us that the gist of the crime of blasphemous libel is material relating to the Christian religion, or its figures or formularies, so scurrilous and offensive in manner that it undermines society generally, by endangering the peace, depraving public morality, shaking the fabric of society or tending to be a cause of civil strife””." Within that context, we believe that the opportunity that we have in this Bill to resolve the matter is appropriate, timely and should be taken. It is right that we should consider these questions within a Bill that deals in some way with hate crime and public order offences and which makes further provision about criminal justice. The most reverend Primates raised a further point about the existing protections. While the debate on blasphemy has a long history, what has changed is the fact that, whereas the offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel do not protect the individual or groups of people from harm, the new offences of incitement to religious hatred and discrimination on the grounds of religion and belief—in the provision of goods, services and employment—do. In doing so, they afford the necessary protections that the most reverend Primates were seeking assurance on. Members of the Committee will be aware that in 2001 the Government introduced legislation that specifically affords protection to religious as well as racial groups in the form of religiously aggravated offences. We have also brought forward wide-reaching legislation to protect people from discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, both specifically within the workplace, as I have mentioned, and in society more generally, with protection against discrimination in education, in the work of public authorities, in the management and disposal of premises and in the provision of goods, facilities and services. Perhaps most centrally in this context, we introduced new criminal offences outlawing incitement to religious hatred in the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006. The church made it clear in 2002 that, if such an offence were enacted and proved effective, it would provide the context in which the current offence of blasphemy could be safely repealed. This context of stronger legislation weakens any argument to keep the status quo. The offence of blasphemy also brings additional difficulties with it. For example, the provisions within legislation on incitement to religious hatred protect all parts of all our communities. Whereas blasphemy seeks to protect Christianity and the Church of England—although some would argue that it covers all faiths—it certainly does not cover those of no faith; it does not cover atheism or humanism. However, these groups are protected within the incitement provisions. This legislation recognises a more complex and diverse society, which respects those of faith and those of none. There is a further and more important argument driving this timetable. As long as this law remains on the statute book, it hinders the UK’s ability to challenge oppressive blasphemy laws in other jurisdictions, including those used to persecute vulnerable Christian minorities. As signatory to a number of international conventions that commit us to tackling discrimination in all its forms, the UK is regularly criticised by international bodies for having these laws. As recently as February this year, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion expressed concern at the continuing existence of the blasphemy offences in this country. As such, their presence represents a blemish on what is otherwise an excellent record on combating discrimination and promoting human rights. It is therefore right that we should seek to abolish them without further delay. The Government are both respectful of and grateful for the fact that the Church of England has indicated that it will not oppose abolition at this time, with the support of a number of other churches. I hope that I have made our reasons as clear as possible in what I have said, but let me quote again from the Secretary of State’s recent letter in response to the concern of the churches. She made it clear that, in speaking to the amendment, the Government, "““will take the greatest care to explain fully its case for taking this step, and in particular its belief that abolition of these laws should not in any sense be interpreted as being further indication of a drift towards a secularisation of society””." The amendment is about removing offences that have long been recognised as unsatisfactory and unworkable. It is not an attack on the sacred in our society. I quote again from the Secretary of State’s letter: "““Neither should it be viewed as a licence for the expression of disrespect towards faiths or those that hold them””." In my personal view, the decision by the churches not to oppose the amendment reflects the resilience of Christian belief in this country and its significance in our history, culture and character. We have a strong tradition in this country of respect for others, justice, the right to freedom, the right to belief and a sense of right and wrong. The Christian tradition has had a profound effect on the way in which these freedoms and traditions have been shaped. It continues today in the role that it plays in contributing to and shaping the life of our communities. I make the point of saying that because, in thanking the churches, I have to stress that the Government are well aware of concerns expressed particularly, but by no means exclusively, by members of the Christian community that abolition would represent further evidence of a drift towards secularisation. Let me reassure noble Lords that we have been at pains to emphasise that the proposal is in no way an attack on those beliefs and values or on the church, let alone on Christians themselves. Indeed, I believe that, by removing a law that has fallen into disuse and some disrepute, we are demonstrating confidence rather than the reverse. We do not need to rely on such a law to remind ourselves that the sacred still has a role to play in today’s society. I would go further and remind noble Lords of the response that the Government made in 2003 to the report from the Religious Offences Committee: "““We particularly welcome the report’s reflections and conclusions about the role religion plays in people’s lives in the UK today. We entirely endorse its view that changes to society in recent years have not resulted in the ebbing of religious values and the consequent emergence of the United Kingdom as a ‘secular state’. Religious values do indeed still play a significant part in shaping social values, perhaps increasingly so””." The proposal has already attracted broad cross-party support in another place. Such representations as we have had on the issue have been broadly supportive. I know that some noble Lords have tabled similar amendments but I hope that, given the Government’s amendment, they will not move them. I shall conclude by quoting the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Southwark, who spoke in ““Thought for the Day”” on the ““Today”” programme yesterday. He said: "““The possible removal of what is now generally recognized as being a not very workable law should not be interpreted as a secularising move or as a general licence to attack or insult religious beliefs. It should spur us all to work harder to respect and protect the common good””." I say amen to that and I hope that noble Lords are able to join me. I beg to move.