THE Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill, which is being debated in the House of Lords on March 7, contains proposed legislation to make incitement to religious hatred an offence. The executive committee of Scottish PEN is deeply concerned that this will have the opposite of its intended effect and will gravely undermine both freedom of speech and the long-standing climate of tolerance which has historically allowed so many diverse cultural and religious groups to co-exist peacefully in Britain.
We do not need this legislation.
What we need is a signal from government that it wishes to defend true democracy and its many virtues, including those of the right to dissent, the right to freedom of expression and the right to disagree with each others' beliefs.
Robin Lloyd-Jones, on behalf of Scottish PEN Executive Committee, 26 East Clyde Street, Helensburgh.
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