Any new incitement to hatred law should be written with care to avoid intolerance of free speech, the Evangelical Alliance has said following Government proposals this week.

The Alliance, which represents more than a million evangelical Christians in the UK, has reiterated its opposition to any incitement of homophobic or other forms of hatred.

However, it has added that it is hopeful the Government will consult carefully if it decides to go ahead with banning incitement on grounds of sexuality in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill.

Evangelical Alliance head of public affairs Dr Don Horrocks said: "We support legislation that seeks effectively to prevent the stirring up of hatred, but our view remains that the existing law was adequate to deal with offences relating both to religion and sexuality.

"The obvious difficulty in attempting to legislate in this area is that there is a real risk of free speech being severely curtailed and people consequently feeling afraid to engage in legitimate debate, unless the law is clearly defined."

In Monday's debate of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill the Lord Chancellor, Jack Straw, announced that the Government intended to table an amendment to extend the offence of incitement to racial hatred to cover hatred against persons on the basis of their sexuality.

The homosexual rights lobbyists Stonewall has been pushing for just such an amendment.

However, the Lawyers Christian Fellowship (LCF) has said, "It is disappointing that the Government has adopted the proposal."

Andrea Minichiello Williams, Public Policy Officer of the LCF, has said: "As Christians we believe that one should not hate homosexuals or incite hatred against them, but should reflect the love of Christ to all people.

"However, the concern we have about this proposal is the danger it poses to the freedom to speak openly about the bible's teaching on sex and sexuality.