§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the benefits and disbenefits of retaining the offence of blasphemy on the statute book. [22941]
§ Mr. MacleanMy right hon. and learned Friend considers that an unacceptable legal vacuum would be created if the legal protection afforded by the law on blasphemy were removed and nothing introduced in its place. It would be a mistake to attempt to legislate on what is a sensitive matter of conscience without a wide consensus as to the best way forward; in the Government's view there is no such consensus.