Part of Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 6:00 pm on 16 October 2007.
I want to go back to the Government proposal for a new law in respect of incitement to homophobic hatred. We have not seen what the Government will come up with yet, so this is all somewhat academic. I am sure that the three Ministers know precisely what they will say. For the moment, however, we have less idea than they do.
Can you provide some practical examples of the sort of behaviour that you think should be outlawed? Clearly, this is not a debate about whether or not we approve of homosexuality any more than an argument about race should include whether or not we approve of French people. But hatred is, presumably, something in your head. It is when it is expressed in a nasty way that it has a direct consequence—