Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-06-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to prevent members of Britain First and other extreme groups causing offence in mosques in England; and whether there are any plans to take out injunctions against known offenders.

Baroness Warsi

Everyone has the right to feel safe in the place where they worship, free from discrimination and prejudice and we utterly condemn the recent intrusions of Britain First in Bradford and the fear and intimidation this has created among residents. In our country people of all religions must be able to worship without fear of harassment or interruption.

The Secretary for State for Communities and Local Government (the Rt Hon Eric Pickles) has met with representatives of the Bradford Council of Mosques to encourage them to develop guidance for all mosques on what they should do in case of a repeat of the incidents in Bradford. Freedom of worship is a fundamental and hard-fought British liberty that should be defended and we will continue to work with faith organisations and the Council of Mosques to take the right security precautions and ensure that people in Bradford and elsewhere feel safe

Injunctions would be taken out by the individual Mosques involved, not by Government. We are unaware of any plans to take out injunctions in this case.