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Racial and Religious Hatred Bill

My Lords, I have the utmost sympathy with the intention behind the amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Hylton. The truth is, though, that we have come a very long way towards achieving a balance between protection of people from behaviour motivated by hatred and the preservation of freedom of expression in religious matters. Over the months, the Government have taken seriously the concerns expressed from many quarters—sometimes perhaps a bit late in the day and maybe even under occasional duress. Nevertheless, in my view, the presently amended form of the Bill before us today paves the way for a satisfactory resolution of outstanding issues. I shall be very interested to hear the Minister’s response to the amendment, but I rather pray that the noble Lord, Lord Hylton, will not wish to test the view of the House.