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<p>Religiously motivated hate crime and hate speech has absolutely no place in British
society. This Government is clear that everybody should be free to live their lives
free from fear of attack simply because of what their beliefs are, and that tragic
events such as the recent murder of Asad Shah in Glasgow will not be tolerated. We
have a strong legal framework in place against discrimination on the basis of religion,
and criminal penalties for offences such as racially or religiously aggravated assault
and criminal damage. Those who perpetrate hate crimes of any kind will be punished
with the full force of the law. This Government has done more than any other to tackle
anti-Muslim hatred. As of 1 April 2016, police forces in England and Wales are disaggregating
religious hate crime data to reveal the true scale and nature of the problem. The
Government also plans to publish its new Hate Crime Action Plan in the summer, which
will set out our approach to tacking all forms of hate crime, including Islamophobia.
This will build on the success of ‘Challenge It, Report It, Stop It’, which was published
in 2012 and updated subsequently in 2014.</p>
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