Hate speech in the Lords
Tim Dieppe
In December, no Government spokesman
in the House of Lords would confirm that a
Christian would be free from arrest if they
proclaimed the uniqueness of Jesus.
In reply to a question by Lord Pearson,
Baroness
Williams
of
Trafford,
the Minister of
State for countering extremism,
replied:‘The definition
[of a hate crime] is: any criminal offence which
is perceived
to be motivated by
hostility or prejudice based
on a person’s actual or perceived disability,
race,
religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity. When
flagged as a hate crime, the
police will be satisfied that an offence has
been committed and will
then
investigate
evidence in support of the appropriate charge,
as well as the aggravated element of hostility.
It would not be appropriate for me, as I have
just said, to confirm whether this [proclaiming the uniqueness of Jesus] is an example
which would constitute a hate crime. That
would be an operational decision both of
the police and the CPS based on the specific circumstances.’
UK universities – a new Dark Age?
I have just read Nigel Biggar’s latest book: The New Dark Age: Why Liberals Must Win the Culture Wars (Polity 2026). It is very disturbing. We all know that universities are heavily influenced by woke ideology, decolonisation, and EDI [Equality, Diversity and Inclusion], but I didn’t realise quite how bad it has become.
Universities and 'woke ideology'
The whole sorry story of Jason Arday and his overpromotion by Cambridge University exposed a serious problem in academia. I don’t really blame Arday so much as the people who promoted him and celebrated him even though they were aware of his extensive plagiarism and easily disprovable claims. Then there were the sinister legal letters threatening those who dared to question his credentials and reporting them to police for harassment. It was all bound to fall apart one day, and so it did, with devastating consequences for Arday and his family.