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Coroners and Justice Bill

My Lords, my name is on Amendment 75A and I shall speak briefly to it. Most of the issues have been set out by the noble Lord, Lord Lester, so I will not go into detail. The arguments for abolishing the offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel in this day and age have been well rehearsed over many years—so well rehearsed and received that blasphemy ceased to become an offence when the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act was passed last year. It is perhaps relevant to mention the inconsistency of such laws in the multi-faith communities in which we live, and to remind noble Lords that in the past this archaic law has been used predominantly as a tool of censorship. As the noble Lord, Lord Lester, said, it re-emerged as a proposal in the Republic of Ireland earlier this year. It would be inconsistent for noble Lords to ignore the continuing existence of the blasphemy laws in Northern Ireland. It cannot be that such laws are considered arcane and redundant in the UK and not so in Northern Ireland—which, for these purposes, is not yet devolved. This will become a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly once powers are fully transferred. At present it remains in the hands of Westminster, which is why we are debating it today. I remind noble Lords that laws that remain on the statute book are hostages to fortune. No one can guarantee that their continued presence will not in future be misused to curtail legitimate speech, opinions and views.