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Commencement of new legislation to combat religious hatred
Incitement to religious hatred will today become a criminal offence in England and Wales with the commencement of the Racial and Religious Hatred Act.
The Act creates a new offence of intentionally stirring up religious hatred against people on religious grounds, closing a gap in the current legislation.
Existing offences in the Public Order 1986 Act legislate against inciting racial hatred. Jews and Sikhs have been deemed by the courts to be racial groups and are protected under this legislation, but other groups such as Muslims and Christians are considered to be religious rather than racial groups and have therefore not previously received any protection under the law.
The new Act will give protection to these groups by outlawing the use of threatening words or behaviour intended to incite hatred against groups of people defined by their religious beliefs or lack of belief.
Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said:
"This Act closes this small but important gap in the law against extremists who stir up hatred in our communities. To be attacked or targeted because of your race or religion is wholly unacceptable.
"It can have a devastating effect on victims who can find themselves on the receiving end of bigotry and hatred.
"We are committed to protecting everyone in our society and legislating against this abhorrent behaviour. Our overarching goal is to build a civilised society where we can all achieve our potential free from prejudice."
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The Racial and Religious Hatred Act received Royal Assent on 16 February 2006. The Act can be found at: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2006/20060001.htm
2. This Act applies to England and Wales.
3. Legislation against religiously and racially aggravated crimes is already in force under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. The Act introduced nine racially or religiously aggravated offences, (including assaults, criminal damage, public order offences and harassment) which make higher maximum penalties available to the courts where there is evidence of racist or religious motivation or hostility in connection with an offence.
4. The reference to "religious belief or lack of religious belief" is a broad one, and is in line with the freedom of religion guaranteed by Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. It is intended to include, although this list is not definitive, those religions widely recognised in this country such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Rastafarianism, the Baha'i faith, Zoroastrianism and Jainism.
5. The existing racial incitement offence carries a high threshold in order to protect freedom of speech. Offensive words/actions must be threatening, abusive or insulting and must either be intended or likely to incite hatred. The hatred must be aimed at people who are members of that group.
6. As has already been stated (above), the new offence is limited to threatening words or behaviour, and there is a requirement for the prosecution to prove intention to stir up religious hatred. In addition, there is a limiting statement, protecting legitimate freedom of expression, in the following terms:
Nothing in this Part shall be read or given effect in a way which prohibits or restricts discussion, criticism or expressions of antipathy, dislike, ridicule, insult or abuse of particular religions or the beliefs or practices of their adherents, or of any other belief system or the beliefs or practices of its adherents, or proselytising or urging adherents of a different religion or belief system to cease practising their religion or belief system.
The new offence therefore has an even higher threshold than the race hatred offence, recognising that religious beliefs are a legitimate subject of vigorous public debate.
7. All prosecutions, whether for racial or religious hatred, require the consent of the Attorney General.
