Labour Islamophobia definition could deter police, warn top barrister

A top barrister and adviser to the Attorney General warned that Labour's move to define Islamophobia could deter police from investigating Muslims suspected of crime and could curb free speech. Tom Cross KC, a member of the Attorney General's A panel of Crown Counsel, said a non-statutory Islamophobia definition being drawn up by Labour could be used to challenge the powers exercised by police and security services to investigate individuals who happen to be Muslim for criminal offences.

In a legal opinion commissioned by the Free Speech Union, Cross argued the definition could cover offences of the most serious violent or sexual nature and could be used to rewrite harassment and hate crime laws. He suggested an official definition risks diluting the existing framework that allows those accused of making offensive comments to argue that their remarks were reasonable.

Labour has set up a working group to devise a definition of Islamophobia, with Dominic Grieve, the former Tory attorney general, at the helm. The party says the effort is meant to tackle anti-Muslim abuse, but it has drawn opposition from legal scholars and civil-liberties advocates who warn it could have unintended consequences for policing and free expression. The project was instigated by Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister, and has since been taken over by Communities Secretary Steve Reed, who is overseeing the drafting process. How Grieve will proceed remains unclear, and Cross is among a cadre of government advisers whose views are being watched closely.

A Labour source dismissed the concerns as the type of complete nonsense you’d expect from an activist lawyer, while Lord Young, director of the Free Speech Union, warned that an official state definition could lead to police and security services being more hesitant to investigate Muslim suspects and could entrench two-tierism in the criminal justice system. He also suggested a definition could open the door to a de facto blasphemy regime.

In June, the Policy Exchange think tank urged Labour to suspend its working group, arguing that an official Islamophobia definition would likely turbocharge cancel culture and hinder efforts to expose wrongdoing. Earlier this year, Baroness Casey's review of public-body conduct found that authorities sometimes suppressed information about Asian grooming gangs for fear of appearing racist; Policy Exchange argued Labour’s approach would have made such disclosures harder and slower.

Shadow Housing, Community and Local Government Secretary Kevin Hollinrake criticized the group in July, saying its almost entirely Muslim membership risked delivering a predetermined and biased conclusion. A government spokesman said the allegations amounted to speculation and reiterated that the government would not accept any definition of anti-Muslim hatred that prevents criminals from being investigated; officials added that the priority remains to tackle crime and defend free speech.