John Baron

Conservative Party | Billericay and District

Points of View

Freedom of Speech

I recently spoke in Parliament warning that freedom of speech could be curtailed by the Government’s Incitement to Racial and Religious Hatred Bill. The Bill intends to extend the crime of incitement to racial hatred to religious groups not covered by the present legislation – such as Muslims and Hindus.

Part of the problem stems from the fact the Government is confusing race and religion when it comes to freedom of speech. In a liberal democracy, it is clearly outrageous to criticise or hate someone on account of something over which they do not have any control or choice such as race. The Bill, however, raises the prospect that argument and disagreement over religion, which is a matter of choice, may be regarded as inciting religious hatred. That is nonsense, and it is clearly wrong.
 
But what makes this legislation even more of a nonsense is that it is not needed. We already have laws prohibiting discrimination, intimidation and incitement to violence. In short, protection already exists for everyone, regardless of their religion.

So why is the Bill being introduced? I can only draw the conclusion that this dangerous and unnecessary legislation is being introduced by the Government as a ‘sop’ to the Muslim community for having misled the country and instigated an illegal war in Iraq. It is posturing of the worst kind

Meanwhile, there is a real danger that the Bill will be used by some religious groups to prosecute other religious groups, which could corrode community relations rather than improve them. This has been the experience of those countries which have introduced similar legislation – such as India and Austrialia. There is also a danger that high-profile prosecutions could give extremists greater publicity.

The Bill is a foolish knee-jerk reaction to deep-seated social problems. We do not need tighter or more combative laws in this area, but instead more freedom of speech and expression in order to promote the greater understanding and tolerance needed to defeat the bigotry and hatred that exists in corners of our society.

Freedom of speech is essential for the defence of our core values and for society to move forward, embrace new ideas and challenge the established views. It is Parliament's duty to protect our freedom of speech against an increasingly powerful Executive. Parliament cannot and must not fail in that duty, otherwise we as a society risk progress and our own advancement.