§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryTo ask the Solicitor-General how many successful prosecutions for incitement of racial hatred there have been. [9967]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralRecords for prosecutions for incitement of racial hatred under part III of the Public Order Act 1986 have been kept only since 1988. Since then 42 defendants have been successfully prosecuted under the provisions of the Act. The number of applications for consent to prosecute for each year since 1988, the number of prosecutions arising and the convictions obtained are as summarised.492W
Number of applications for Attorney General consent1 Withdrawn Not granted Prosecuted Convicted2 1988 3 — 1 2 2 1989 1 — — 1 1 1990 2 — — 2 2 1991 4 — 1 3 1 1992 5 — 2 3 2 1993 2 — — 2 2 1994 2 — — 2 2 1995 8 1 — 7 6 1996 13 — 1 12 9 1997 12 — 2 10 9 1998 2 1 — 1 1 1999 4 — — 4 3 2000 5 — — 5 32 20014 7 — — 7 5— 1 Per defendant 2 Not necessarily in the same year 3 Two results outstanding 4 To date 5 Results awaited