§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what definition of (a) racism and (b) xenophobia is used by his Department. [53961]
§ Angela Eagle[holding answer 2 May 2002]: The terms "racism" and "xenophobia" are not defined in the United Kingdom's domestic law. Our law deals with those who act on racism through, for example, racial discrimination or inciting racial hatred, behaviours which are defined in our legislation. Where these terms appear and are not defined, such as in Article 29 of the Treaty of European Union, in the view of United Kingdom Government the terms should be given their ordinary accepted meaning having regard to the context in which they are used. This is also the approach taken within the Home Office.