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Racial and Religious Hatred Bill

May I start, some may say uncharacteristically, by trying to accentuate a few of the positives about the Bill? As regards the analysis of the problem, I share a great deal of common ground with the right hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Frank Dobson), as do all Liberal Democrats. We think it is right that the Government have recognised a major issue, that there should be no complacency about the growth in Islamophobia and that there should be no equivocation in any quarter in the criticism of groups such as the British National party, and others that seek to promote Islamophobia and prosper on the back of it. The difficulty I have with the position outlined by the Home Secretary and the right hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras relates to the Government’s apparent insistence that their way of proceeding is the only way. They seek to present the choice as being between doing nothing—continuing to tolerate the growth of Islamophobia, hatred attacks and the rest of it—and doing what they wish to do. This is the third time we have been round this particular course. Both this House and the other place have already had the benefit of considering the amendment tabled by my noble and learned Friend Lord Lester of Herne Hill, so we know there is another way of proceeding. That is the basis on which my right hon. and hon. Friends and I and Conservative Members have tabled the reasoned amendment. I can see why the Bill is attractive to many groups, especially to many Muslim groups, but this is not a debate about who is supporting and who is opposing Muslim groups in ethnically diverse communities. I bring to the House’s attention the comments of Dr. Ghayasuddin Siddiqui of the Muslim Parliament of Britain on 13 June, which were reasserted in The Guardian:"““The moslem concern for protection, equality and social inclusion is real and genuine . . . This law will be cosmetic and fail to prevent the abuses hurled at Muslims.””" I hope that, in seeking to protect the vulnerable groups in their communities, those who come from ethnically diverse communities—not a label that one would normally attach to my constituency—will listen closely to such comments.