Religious offences

Fiona MacTaggart is the MP responsible for race equality policy

BBC Radio 4's Law in Action was broadcast on Friday, 26 November 2004 at 1600 GMT.

In the Queen's Speech this week the government announced plans to ban religious discrimination and to make inciting religious hatred a criminal offence.

Although the proposed legislation has been welcomed by the Commission for Racial Equality and the Muslim Council of Britain, some religious groups have reservations about the creation of a new law banning incitement of religious hatred.

Mark Mullins, a barrister and Secretary of the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship; and Massoud Shadjareh, Chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, tell presenter Clive Coleman why they are worried that a law to ban incitement of religious hatred will hinder the freedom of religious groups to proclaim their faith.

Background

The government's proposed changes are contained in two separate bills:

the anti-discrimination legislation will be contained in the Equality Bill.

This bill would also establish a single Commission for Equality and Human Rights. It is intended to extend existing laws banning discrimination in the provision of goods and services on grounds of race so that it covers religious groups as well

the legislation banning incitement of religious hatred will be contained in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill (the main purpose of that bill is to establish a British version of the FBI)

The law at present

Through case law it has already been established that Sikhs and Jews can claim the protection of the laws relating to racial discrimination and inciting racial hatred. This is because Jews and Sikhs are racial as well religious groups.

Christians and Muslims, being multi-racial faith groups, are not provided with the same protection. The proposed changes will close that loophole.

Since December 2003 it has been unlawful in England and Wales to discriminate in employment on grounds of religion. The Equality Bill would extend that protection to the provision of goods and services.

There is currently no specific offence of inciting religious hatred, although there is a more general offence of causing harassment, alarm or distress.

Fiona MacTaggart MP, the Home Office junior minister with responsibility for Race Equality and Community Policy, tells presenter Clive Coleman that the government felt the need to create a specific offence because the British National Party was deliberately taking advantage of a loophole in the law which does not prevent people from inciting religious, as opposed to racial, hatred.

She also tells Law in Action that the government has no plans to repeal the laws on blasphemy which apply to Christianity only.

The government attempted to include a clause banning incitement to religious hatred in the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill in 2001.

The House of Lords opposed the measure and government agreed to drop the clause from the bill. However, a clause creating a crime of religiously aggravated harassment was passed.