By Michael Curzon, European Conservative.
Free speech advocates say they are ready to launch legal campaigns if the updated definition still threatens fundamental rights.
Labour has given up on its attempt to come up with an official definition of ‘Islamophobia,’ which would have done further damage to the already weakened state of free speech in Britain, and is instead focussing its attention on so-called ‘anti-Muslim hate.”
The government’s new definition will remove all references to “Muslimness,” according to The Daily Telegraph. But the paper insists that ministers should abandon their attempts to define ‘Islamophobia’/’anti-Muslim hate’ altogether because “there are already laws that protect anyone from racial and religious discrimination.”
Campaigners at the Free Speech Union have welcomed Labour’s decision, but also warned that “this may just be a cynical rebadging exercise” since the government’s definition of ‘anti-Muslim hatred’ has not been made public.
“We are cautiously optimistic, but stand ready to legally challenge any definition likely to have a chilling effect on free speech.“