§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What measures they have taken, and intend to take, to strengthen the protection of homosexual people against crimes motivated by hatred and, in particular, 124WA incitement to violence against homosexual people in song lyrics and the public broadcasting of those songs. [HL336]
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Falconer of Thoroton)The Government are committed to tackling all hate crime regardless of what form it takes.
The criminal law already contains a wide range of powers to deal with violent behaviour and harassment. This includes, under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, the ability for courts to issue higher sentences to perpetrators of crimes motivated by hate.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), working with the Government, have developed guidance for police forces in dealing with these types of crime. This guidance is entitled Identifying and Combating Hate Crime and was last updated in April 2002.
To solicit or incite another to commit a crime (through, for example, homophobic song lyrics) is indictable under common law, even if the solicitation or incitement has no effect. Therefore a crime would not actually need to be committed to convict people of incitement to violence against homosexual people.
Under broadcasting arrangements, responsibilty for what is broadcast on television and radio rests with the broadcasters and the broadcasting regulatory bodies -the Governors of the BBC, the Independent Television Commission (ITC), the Welsh Fourth Channel Authority (S4C) and the Radio Authority (RAu). They are independent of the Government and accountable for safeguarding the public interests in broadcasting. They also maintain guidelines for programme makers on the standards which should be observed. In respect of song lyrics, the RAu code makes specific reference to song lyrics and the need for considered judgments to be made by licencees with regard to scheduling certain tracks. The code rules involving the portrayal of violence, in that it must never be glorified or applauded, apply to programming generally as does the 1990 Act requirement that nothing shall be included that is likely to encourage or incite to crime or lead to disorder.