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Coroners and Justice Bill

My Lords, although I came across the amendment only a short time ago, as a layman I warmly welcome it and believe it to be long overdue. I was never happy when we were debating the inclusion of the word "insulting" in what was soon to become the Public Order Act 1986, and for one simple reason: the word "abusive" can be judged objectively, but "insulting" is totally subjective. What one person finds offensive, the next person may be indifferent to. It did not matter very much at first, because I think that the public 20-odd years ago were less thin-skinned than they are now. Moreover, the police were not bound by the iniquitous target culture imposed by the Blair Administration, so that what previously might have been dealt with by a brief ticking-off or even no action at all now results all too often in detention and arrest. People are positively encouraged to be touchy, both by the media—whether deliberately or not—and pressure groups. Moreover, there is a temptation in certain circumstances of very large, disproportionate compensation if people can prove themselves to have been insulted. So the time is certainly ripe for the removal of "insulting", leaving of course "abusive".