A WELL-DESERVED DEFEAT:

Shock double defeat for Government

Ministers were examining how they suffered a shock double defeat over plans to combat religious hatred.

Tony Blair was dealt his second and third Commons defeats since coming to power as MPs backed House of Lords objections to the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill.

And in a further embarrassment for the Prime Minister, it emerged he did not vote in the second division - which the Government lost by just one vote.

[...]

Peers had inflicted a series of defeats on the Bill in a bid to safeguard freedom of speech with an amendment restricting the new offence of inciting religious hatred to threatening words and behaviour rather than a wider definition also covering insults and abuse.

They also required the offence to be intentional, and specified that criticism, insult, abuse and ridicule of religion, belief or religious practice would not be an offence.

Ministers urged the Commons to reject the Lords' amendments and back a Government compromise instead. Home Office Minister Paul Goggins insisted that only those intending to "stir up hatred" would be caught under the Government's plans.

[...]

Home Secretary Charles Clarke quickly announced that the Government was bowing to the Commons' will, and that the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill would go for Royal Assent to become law as it stood.

I think the bill as it stands is unnecessary: direct threats and incitements to criminal acts (not thoughts!) are already illegal. It's probably also still subject to abuse by the Government once it becomes law. But it's a vast improvement over the original, on which I have commented in detail here.

UPDATE: On a not unrelated note, buy Danish! (Background here.) I like Carlsberg beer!

UPDATE (2 February): You can see the offending cartoons for yourself here. If such things bother you, don't click on the link. They're not much to my taste, and some are downright tasteless, but I object to them being censored. (Via the Penkill Papers.)