Oral Answers to Questions

Kwasi Kwarteng Excerpts

Monday 12th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

7. What steps the Government are taking to tackle hate speech.

[Kwasi Kwarteng (Spelthorne) (Con)]

17. What steps the Government are taking to tackle hate speech.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Karen Bradley)]

No one in this country should live in fear because of who they are. We have made progress in tackling hate crime, but we are determined to do more, including challenging those who spread extremist messages and seek to divide our society. We will therefore develop a new hate crime action plan, working in partnership with communities and across Government to ensure that we have strong measures to stop these deplorable crimes.

[Karen Bradley]

I assure my hon. Friend, who campaigns so much for the protection of religious freedoms, that we value the role of faith in society, and will protect everyone’s right to practise their faith. Freedom of speech is a fundamental value that binds our society together, and we will always protect that right. Nothing that we are doing, or planning to do, to tackle hate crime and extremism will stop the United Kingdom’s long tradition of preaching.

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

I am very grateful for the Minister’s answer. Will she assure the House that nothing in legislation will undermine not just Christianity, but people who preach other faiths?

[Karen Bradley]

I assure my hon. Friend that we are doing nothing in legislation that will prevent the right to believe, and the right to practise and preach. What we are doing is focusing on people who seek to use religious texts as an excuse to promote hatred and extremism. That is what we want to stop.