Freedom of speech: Warning not to speculate on the outcome of Northern Ireland ‘hate crime’ review

The reviewers, led by judge Desmond Marrinan, were responding to a piece in the News Letter last week in which a barrister for the Christian Institute issued a grave warning about the future of free speech in Northern Ireland.

London QC Ivan Hare had said that under existing law, freedom of speech is already less protected in the Province than the UK mainland, and that stretching “hate crime” law further – for example to cover things like “gender expression” – could shut down debate on things like transgenderism by criminalising certain opinions.

A statement from the review team said: “We are grateful to the Christian Institute and to the many other organisations and individuals who have shared their views and presented submissions during the public consultation process earlier this year.

“The important issue of freedom of expression is included as one of the specific areas where responses were requested.

“The consultation paper should not be read as indicative of any conclusions or recommendations and we would discourage speculation on the content of the final report.

“All the opinions expressed will be fully considered in an independent manner and will help inform the final report which will be presented to the Department of Justice later this year.”

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