Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the response by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 13 February (HL Deb, col 2339), on what grounds the reports about Qari Asim were considered to be an “abhorrent hate crime”; and whether the police are investigating such reports as a hate crime.

The phrase of “abhorrent hate crime” was used by Viscount Younger of Leckie in reference to the abusive messages that were sent to Imam Qari Asim on Twitter following the report in The Sunday Times rather the report itself. Reported hate crime incidents are investigated by the police who take appropriate and proportionate action in response to them. We are proud to have some of the strongest legislation in the world to tackle hate crime.