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Equality Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 111:"Page 26, line 5, leave out ““religion or belief”” and insert ““the religion or belief of B or of any other person except A (whether or not it is also A’s religion or belief)””" The noble Baroness said: My Lords, government Amendments Nos. 111, 112, 113, 114, 116 and 118 stand in the name of my noble and learned friend Lord Falconer of Thoroton. Together, they make it clear that discrimination and harassment under Clauses 46 and 47 can be unlawful even when committed against a person of the same religion as the discriminator or harasser. That is the intention, and we believe the effect, of the clauses as they stand but the new formulation resolves any doubt on the matter. The noble Lord, Lord Lester, raised concerns about the clauses, so we took them away to see whether we could make them clearer, because it was clear in Committee that we all wanted the same thing. The question was whether the wording was correctly drafted. I hope that the way in which the amendments are drafted gives the clarity that we all sought. I beg to move.