Schedule - Hatred against people on racial or religious grounds
Racial and Religious Hatred Bill
1:00 pm
Paul Goggins (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office; Wythenshawe and Sale East, Labour)
The hon. Gentleman makes a fair point in response to the weakest of the three points that I am making. Over time the rules have changed, not least because of the Serious and Organised Crime and Police Act. None the less, whatever the circumstances, there has not been a problem thus far.
Secondly, I comment again on the need for us to get the guidance right once the new legislation is in place, so that people may understand precisely how the offence will operate, and that it operates to a very high test of hatred. Thirdly—I genuinely hope that this reassures the hon. Gentleman and members of the Committee—where people act in a way that might be regarded as frivolous or inappropriate, there are other protections in the law, and there would be consequences. For example, if someone grabbed hold of a person thinking that they were carrying out a citizen’s arrest but they were actually acting entirely inappropriately, they could be charged with assault. Civil action could be possible for false imprisonment, for example. If an individual repeatedly tried to execute a citizen’s arrests, rang 999 and called the police, they could be charged with wasting police time. There are several safeguards in the proposal that would protect society from such frivolous actions.