Home Secretary insists blasphemy laws will not be reintroduced

Yvette Cooper has ruled out any reintroduction of blasphemy laws.

The Home Secretary initially sidestepped a request from the Conservatives to give a yes or no answer on whether it should be a criminal offence to desecrate a Koran or any holy text.

When pressed a second time on the same question by Conservative MP Nick Timothy, Ms Cooper told the House of Commons: “The honourable member will know we don’t have a blasphemy law in this country nor will we have so.”

Blasphemy laws were abolished in England and Wales in 2008 and in Scotland in 2021.

Intolerance 

Speaking for the Opposition at Home Office questions, Tory whip Katie Lam earlier said: “In fighting terrorism, the security minister (Dan Jarvis) has rightly said that Islamism is the foremost threat we face.

“Its danger lies not just in physical violence but in the intolerance it embodies and the intimidation it relies upon.

“So will the Home Secretary give a clear answer to this: should it be a criminal offence to desecrate a Koran or any holy text, yes or no?”

Ms Cooper replied: “Well, we’ve been clear that the primary domestic threat comes from Islamist terrorism at three quarters of the MI5 caseload and 64% of those in custody for terrorism-connected offences.

“That is followed by extreme right-wing terrorism, which also covers around a quarter of the MI5 caseload and we already have a framework of legislation in place to ensure that we can deal with the kinds of threats to our cohesion as well as to our communities and the kinds of dangerous threats that we face.”

‘Disgrace’

West Suffolk MP Mr Timothy could be heard shouting “What a disgrace, that’s awful” in response to Ms Cooper’s initial remarks.

He went on to say Ms Cooper “quite conspicuously failed to answer the question” from Ms Lam before he received a direct reply from the Home Secretary at the second attempt.

In November last year, Labour MP Tahir Ali (Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley) said the UK should introduce measures to “prohibit the desecration” of religious texts and the prophets of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

He called for action as he warned “division and hatred” can be fuelled in society by “such mindless desecration”.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, replying at the time, agreed that “desecration is awful” and said the Government is “committed to tackling all forms of hatred and division, including Islamophobia, in all of its forms”.