Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the recent arrests for alleged online speech crime on freedom of speech; and if she will make a statement.

The police are operationally independent of Government. It would not be appropriate for Ministers to comment on individual cases.

The Government is absolutely committed to upholding free speech and legislation is in place to protect this fundamental right. The UK is an open and diverse country and freedom of speech is one of the values that defines us as a society. Our legislation values free speech and enables people who wish to engage in debate to do so. However, freedom of expression is a qualified right and can be restricted in certain situations, including where it is used as an excuse to cause harm or spread hatred.

We keep our legislative framework under review to ensure it remains effective in tackling hate crime and protecting communities whilst also upholding the fundamental right to freedom of expression. The Government will always work with policing to ensure that the criminal law supports the common-sense approach we all want to see being taken. The Home Office stands ready to consider the proposals for change currently being developed by the Chief Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.