Evangelical Alliance welcomes preservation of free speech

The Evangelical Alliance has welcomed Parliament’s decision to keep a clause preserving freedom of speech in the Coroners and Justice Bill as a careful balancing of competing human rights.

The House of Lords finally prevailed today after resisting pressure from the House of Commons to remove a clarifying clause, introduced by former Home Secretary Lord Waddington, to preserve freedom of speech as part of the ban on incitement to hatred on grounds of sexual conduct.

The clause maintains that discussion and criticism of sexual conduct is not, in itself, tantamount to inciting hatred.

Although the Government had whipped MPs to take the clause out, the House of Lords voted again by a substantial majority last night to keep it in and the Government today reluctantly accepted their decision.

Responding to the outcome, the Evangelical Alliance stated that freedom of expression was a fundamental civil liberty present in the world’s leading human rights declarations and crucial for Christians to be able to freely preach the Gospel.

Don Horrocks, Head of Public Affairs at the Alliance, gave oral evidence to the House of Commons Committee in 2007, at the start of the lengthy parliamentary process relating to this Bill.

He argued that while incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation was clearly unacceptable, the law needed to clarify exactly what type of speech was allowed without creating a climate of fear of investigation or prosecution.

Dr Horrocks said in response to the Government’s decision: “We’re very grateful and relieved. This debate is, and always was, about one thing – free speech.

“We are delighted that Parliament has recognised the need to ensure that, while the evils of incitement to hatred are effectively tackled, society continues to place a high value on freedom of speech.”

He added that the clause meant police would be able to deal effectively with unacceptable hate incidents without coming under pressure to investigate and pursue trivial or malicious allegations against people who are engaging in legitimate debate.