Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 11:00 pm on 21 April 2008.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Lord Monson Lord Monson Crossbench 11:00, 21 April 2008

My Lords, I respectfully point out to the noble Baroness, Lady Turner, that there has not been a slight change in the original wording, there has been an enormous change in the original wording. It is much more moderate and makes no mention whatever of homosexuality. People should not only have a legal right to urge others to refrain from certain sexual practices, in certain circumstances I submit they have a moral duty to do so.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has been ratified by the United Kingdom, deems a child to be anyone under the age of 18, and as such deserving of protection from physical and mental harm. In consequence of a change in the law about seven and a half years ago, forced through under the Parliament Act against the better judgment of the great majority of your Lordships, 16 and 17 year-olds can now legally be subjected to medically dangerous sexual practices in addition to relatively safe practices to which there can be much less objection. This is all the more paradoxical in the light of the Government's determination with all the powers at their command to try to prevent under-18s from smoking, which in statistical terms is decidedly less dangerous than being sodomised.

As I said on the previous occasion, there is very little danger in practice of anyone being sent to prison for seven years, seven months or even seven weeks if this extremely modest and moderate amendment is rejected by the Government for the simple reason that no British jury would convict. However, there will on the other hand be a very great danger of the unfortunate ordinary policeman and policewoman being urged on by politically correct chief constables to step up their harassment of critics of such behaviour just as the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Chester, Lynette Burrows, Robin Page and many others were inexcusably harassed.

Annotations

david skinner
Posted on 22 Apr 2008 11:53 pm (Report this annotation)

Unfortunately Lord Monson, there has indeed been a tremendous back pedalling on this amendment; it would not hurt a fly or present a challenge to anyone. As for it not mentioning homosexuality, it had better not. You may criticise the sexual behaviour of John Prescott all you like but were you to challenge Chris Bryant this would land you in hot water.

When he says that,
“there is very little danger in practice of anyone being sent to prison for seven years, seven months or even seven weeks if this extremely modest and moderate amendment is rejected by the Government for the simple reason that no British jury would convict.”
He underestimates the determination of Ben Summerskill to impose the homophobic hatred laws with the utmost vigour. This is the voice of Sir Trevor Phillips OBE leader of the Commissioners for Equality and Human Rights and around whose table comfortably sits Ben Summerskill. "Let me put it as crudely as I can do it as a public official. If somebody is guilty of discrimination of any kind, and with sexual orientation we usually know what it's about with sneering and contempt and all the rest of it, we want them not to be just be punished by the court but frankly to feel the contempt and hatred that they have visited on other people.
"They can argue what they like, but there's a law now and frankly if these people want generally to pose as they often do as the decent and moral people in the community, perhaps they should remember that the first elements of decency in a liberal democracy is the rule of law.” "As far as I'm concerned there isn't a conflict here. "There is a law. Your faith does not protect you. I understand what you are asking me but to be perfectly honest I haven't got time for it. If people want to use in my view, the mantle of faith to be bigots, I'm not buying it."
These sound like the words of a man who will not rest until he has carried out a witch hunt even to the furthest corners of the United Kingdom, for those suspected of hating homosexual practices. Ben and Trevor will find their hatred.