Since his election Peter has raised the importance of Freedom of Expression time and time again.
After news broke that a man has been convicted for burning a religious text, Peter asked the Lord Chancellor on the floor of the House of Commons: “While we may not agree with the method; peaceful protests can take many forms such as burning religious texts. Does the Lord Chancellor agree with me that freedom of expression should be protected and that any moves by Parliament, or by the courts, to introduce a Blasphemy Law would undermine it?"
The Justice Minister responded:
“The Honourable Member will be reassured to know that we do not have a blasphemy law in this country, and that is the right and proper position”.
Speaking outside of the Chamber Peter said: “The answer I received from the Government today was unhelpful and frankly appears contradictory, when we have all seen the recent news of a man haven been convicted for burning a Koran outside the Turkish Consulate.”
“The man in question was found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence, so it is unbelievable to hear from the Justice Department today that we don’t have blasphemy laws in this country.”
“It is absolutely vital that freedom of expression is protected in this country, and I will continue to remind this Labour Government of that.”
Peter remains committed to fighting to restore a justice system based on equality and not a two-tier system!
You can read more about the conviction here: Man convicted after burning Koran outside Turkish consulate in London | UK News | Sky News
