The anti-Muslim hostility definition is designed to silence criticism of Islam, its history and its practices. It is a direct assault on our fundamental right to free speech. Baroness Gohir, a member of the House of Lords and of the Working Group tasked with drafting the definition, has claimed that it is “Islamophobic” to point out that most rape-gang perpetrators were Muslim men. This is despite Baroness Casey’s report finding a disproportionate number of perpetrators of child sexual exploitation were men of Pakistani heritage. Earlier this year, the Free Speech Union revealed that all five members of the Working Group, appointed by Angela Rayner, had troubling links to Islamist organisations. Rayner’s department then claimed it had deleted all responses to the Working Group’s consultation, apparently breaching the Government’s own data policy. This only fuelled speculation that Islamist extremists may have influenced the drafting of what amounts to a de facto Islamic blasphemy law. After an investigation, the department claimed that the responses were still held on its data system — but refused to disclose them. It makes no sense. What is Angela Rayner hiding? Watch @Katie_Lam_MP’s video 👇

Today, the Courts and Tribunals Bill returns to the House of Commons for its Second Reading. The Bill contains a sinister proposal to significantly curb our ancient and precious right to trial by jury. Andy Burnham may have moved an inch, but David Lammy’s authoritarian plan to slash that right is still very much alive and kicking. Burnham’s ministers, like Starmer’s before them, believe that restricting defendants’ right to a jury trial is the most efficient way to reduce the Crown Court backlog — despite having no credible evidence to support this claim. FSU research has shown that people charged with speech-related offences are almost twice as likely to be found not guilty in a Crown Court with a jury than in a magistrates’ court without one. Put simply, if Lammy’s reforms pass, more people could be banged up for exercising their right to free speech. ✍️ Sign the FSU’s petition calling on the Government to guarantee our right to trial by jury 👇

🚨 THE GOVERNMENT IS PLANNING THE MOST ONEROUS AND DANGEROUS CENSORSHIP REGIME SINCE THE REIGN OF CHARLES I. Andy Burnham used his first appearance on the world stage to launch the National Centre for Information Defence, citing alleged Russian interference in British democracy. Today, Mr Burnham again claimed that Russia interfered in the Brexit referendum by spreading disinformation. These allegations have been thoroughly investigated and found to be false. Why is he raising them now? Because Brexit runs counter to his aims and the progressive orthodoxies he believes in. This is misinformation being used to justify a crackdown on misinformation. Following the referendum, the highly respected Oxford Internet Institute found that posts linked to Russia amounted to a minuscule proportion of the posts people had read on social media: less than one-thousandth of 1 per cent. People need to see what is happening. The Government is spreading misinformation about misinformation. Watch the latest episode of the FSU Podcast with FSU General Secretary Lord Young and Director of Research and Policy @DavidRoseUK on our YouTube channel 👇

The Free Speech Union is making progress in its efforts to discover who the Working Group on “anti-Muslim hostility” consulted while drafting the non-statutory definition. We are increasingly concerned that extremists may have had the opportunity to influence the definition — which has already had a chilling effect on free speech. When Shadow Justice Secretary @NJ_Timothy submitted an FOI request, the Communities Department initially said it had deleted all the consultation responses. The FSU then threatened the department with legal action, arguing that destroying records from an important public consultation may be unlawful. The department has now told both the FSU and Nick that it still holds the responses — but refuses to release them. What a stunning admission. Were the documents simply lost in the backlog, or was there an attempt to cover up the possibility that extremists had been involved in the process? The next battle is to make the department release the responses. Slowly but surely, we are making progress. The British public deserves to know the truth. Watch the Free Speech Union’s General Secretary, Lord Young, below 👇