Hermon opposes Religious Hatred Bill
Ulster Unionist MP Lady Hermon is to vote against Government attempts to undo Lords amendments to the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill. Speaking from Westminster before the debate on the Bill, she said:
“This Bill was savaged in the House of Lords mainly because of its infringement on free speech. Applying commonsense, the Upper House made necessary changes to the legislation and I’ll be opposing any Government attempt to undo those changes.”
Citing experiences in Northern Ireland, the UUP Home Affairs Spokesperson continued:
“We must bear in mind that since 1987 we in Northern Ireland have had laws prohibiting incitement to religious hatred. But there hasn’t been a single successful prosecution in nearly twenty years –hardly a legal success.
“Apart from the understandable opposition of notable comedians and others protesting outside Parliament to protect their freedom of speech, there’s the much more serious issue of the inevitable impact on people defending their religious beliefs and practices. For these reasons I’ll certainly be voting against the Government.”