Britain's Religious Hatred Bill Passes In Modified Form

In Britain yesterday, Prime Minister Tony Blair suffered a major defeat as the House of Commons accepted changes proposed by the House of Lords to Britain's pending Racial and Religious Hatred Bill. (See prior posting.) Today's Daily Mail and London Times report on the developments. The amendments limit the bill's prohibitions to threatening words and behavior. Criticism, insult, abuse and ridicule of religion, belief or religious practice were explicitly excluded from coverage. Amendments also provide that the law will be violated only by intentional conduct. The first vote in Commons on the bill backed the House of Lords amendments by 288 to 278. Then a major political miscalculation occurred. Hilary Armstrong, the Chief Whip, advised Prime Minister Blair that there was no point in staying for the second decisive vote on the bill, given the wide margin of defeat in the first vote. However when the second vote was taken, the House of Lords amendments won by only one vote (283 to 282), with Mr. Blair absent and not voting. The bill will go for royal assent in its now-amended version.