Clare

There is a cover-up at the heart of Government. Ministers have been forced to admit that the “missing” Islamophobia definition documents do exist. After pressure from the Free Speech Union and Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy, Angela Rayner’s Communities department has conceded that documents that helped shape the “anti-Muslim hostility” definition still exist, despite previously saying they had been destroyed. It now seems almost certain that the Government tried to bury evidence that could show whether Islamist extremists helped draft what amounts to Britain’s de facto Islamic blasphemy law. The Free Speech Union has warned that this non-statutory definition will be used — and is already being used — by activists, public bodies and authorities to silence legitimate criticism and debate about Islam, its history and its practices. A review ordered by Will Garton, the top civil servant at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, found that responses to the Working Group’s consultation on the definition do exist and are “still held on the department’s systems”. The Free Speech Union threatened the department with a judicial review unless it revealed who had been given the chance to influence the definition. Enough is enough. There can be no more excuses. Angela Rayner must come clean about what on earth is going on under her watch. Read more below 👇