London, Oct 1 : Incitement to religious hatred will be a criminal offence in England and Wales from today with the commencement of the Racial and Religious Hatred Act.

The Act creates a new offence of intentionally stirring up religious hatred against people on religious grounds, closing a gap in the current legislation.

Existing offences in the Public Order 1986 Act legislate against inciting racial hatred. Jews and Sikhs have been deemed by the courts to be racial groups, and are protected under this legislation, but other groups such as Muslims and Christians are considered to be religious rather than racial groups, and have therefore not previously received any protection under the law.

The new Act will give protection to these groups by outlawing the use of threatening words or behaviour intended to incite hatred against groups of people defined by their religious beliefs or lack of belief.

Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said: “This Act closes this small but important gap in the law against extremists who stir up hatred in our communities. To be attacked or targeted because of your race or religion is wholly unacceptable.”

Coaker added that it could have a devastating effect on victims who could find themselves on the receiving end of “bigotry and hatred.”

“We are committed to protecting everyone in our society and legislating against this abhorrent behaviour. Our overarching goal is to build a civilised society where we can all achieve our potential free from prejudice,” Coaker said.

Legislation against religiously and racially aggravated crimes is already in force under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. The Act introduced nine racially or religiously aggravated offences, including assaults, criminal damage, public order offences and harassment, which make higher maximum penalties available to the courts where there is evidence of racist or religious motivation or hostility in connection with an offence.

The existing racial incitement offence carries a high threshold in order to protect freedom of speech. Offensive words or actions must be threatening, abusive or insulting and must either be intended or likely to incite hatred. The hatred must be aimed at people who are members of that group. (With inputs from ANI)