Church to be consulted on blasphemy laws repeal

Downing Street has announced plans to consult the Church of England over plans to scrap blasphemy laws.

MPs were in the Commons on Wednesday to debate Lib Dem MP Evan Harris's proposals to abolish the laws.

Justice Minister Maria Eagle said at the debate that the Government has "every sympathy" for proposals to abolish the laws, which were originally passed to protect Christianity.

Harris's amendment failed to win the backing of the Government yesterday, but a Downing Street spokesman indicated that Prime Minister Gordon Brown was going to keep blasphemy laws on the agenda.

"We do believe it is necessary to consult with the churches, particularly the Anglican church, before coming to a final decision, and that's what we are doing," said the spokesman.

"Subject to that, we will consider moving amendments in the House of Lords."

Ms Eagle said that the consultation with the Church would be "short and sharp".

On Tuesday, the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey and the former Bishop of Oxford Lord Harries of Pentregarth expressed their support for the repeal of the blasphemy laws in a letter in Tuesday's Daily Telegraph.

The letter's signatories also included His Dark Materials author Philip Pullman, comedian Ricky Gervais and The God Delusion author and atheist Richard Dawkins.

The letter states, "The ancient common law of blasphemous libel purports to protect beliefs rather than people or communities. Most religious commentators are of the view that the Almighty does not need the 'protection' of such a law.

"Far from protecting public order - for which other laws are more suited - it actually damages social cohesion.

"It is discriminatory in that it only covers attacks on Christianity and Church of England tenets and thus engenders an expectation among other religions that their sensibilities should be also protected by the criminal law and a sense of grievance among minority religions that they do not benefit from their own version of such a law."