Anti-Muslim Hostility: Non-statutory Definition

Lord Archbishop of York Excerpts

Thursday 12th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I want to be absolutely crystal-clear on the point about blasphemy. There are no blasphemy laws in England, and the Government have no plans to introduce any. The UK has a very proud tradition of religious tolerance within the law, and the Government are committed to building a strong and integrated society in which hatred and prejudice are not tolerated and where everyone is free to express their religious identity and live without fear of discrimination or harm. Muslims are currently subject to 45% of hate crime and we have seen horrific incidents aimed at our Jewish communities and, shockingly, a spike in antisemitism in our communities following those incidents. We need to support those communities, and the Government are absolutely committed to doing so.

[The Archbishop of York]

My Lords, it has been a great honour in the last few weeks to have been the guest at several iftar meals with the Muslim community in Yorkshire, where I am based. I know the noble Baroness mentioned the debate on Monday, but knowing how real Muslim hate crime is and hearing stories from Muslim neighbours just in the last few days, it would be good to hear more about how this is going to be implemented, because this is a definition not to sit on a shelf but to be used to help us become a more tolerant society.

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I agree with the most reverend Primate. I am going to the iftar in Stevenage tomorrow evening, and it has been great to see the cross-community participation in iftars around the country. The Government are taking a number of steps to support this definition, with funding that will help to tackle some of the anti-Muslim hostility that we have seen. For example, we have put additional funding for cohesion into the Pride in Place programme to enable us to tackle some of these issues. I will go into more detail on Monday.