Member

I also have a worry that the ideological premise of non-crime hate incidents remains undisturbed. Indeed, it is deeply embedded in the labyrinth of hate-crime legislation that we discussed in Committee last week. There is an acceptance that words, attitudes and beliefs that are interpreted as hate subjectively by the alleged victim or a third party are assumed to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards protected characteristics—not proven, but assumed. That outlook affects hate-crime legislation but it has been drummed into policing and encourages criminal investigation into speech. That is why free speech campaigners are concerned not just about non-crime hate incidents but about the whole concept of what constitutes hate in the law. I am afraid that that those fears will not be allayed by the removal of non-crime hate incidents.