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Lord Moynihan of Chelsea (Con)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 15 January 2026

Debate

Crime and Policing Bill

Contribution

My Lords, I thought that too was a great debate and that the Minister managed to articulate very clearly that there is clear water between two opposing groups of thought on these matters. I am gagging to launch into a half-hour speech to attempt to respond to what he and others said, but I am mindful of the earlier admonitions from the noble Lord, Lord Katz. I merely thank the noble Baronesses, Lady Fox, Lady Hunt and Lady Brinton, my noble friends Lord Young and Lord Davies, and the Minister for their contributions. I believe that it is time to call an end to this hate crime law experiment. The criminalisation of hate speech and hate crime was overambitious. It punishes ideas and motives, as opposed to actions. As I have shown, I believe it is choking up the justice system and shutting down free speech. I will close by slightly misquoting Samuel Johnson: “How small, of all that human hearts endure, That part which laws ”— or Lords—“can cause or cure”. Having said that, for now, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

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