Plans to encourage more people to complain to police about anti-trans hate crimes could criminalise comedians such as Ricky Gervais, campaigners have warned.
The Home Office is in the process of drawing up a new hate crimes strategy that aims to ‘increase the reporting of all forms of hate crime’, including those relating to gender identity.
Those in favour of the proposals, which would see ‘perpetrators’ accused of ‘non-crime hate incidents’, hope people will feel better protected from harm.
But free-speech campaigners fear the new drive could see comedians criminalised for telling jokes, particularly about the rise of transgender ideology.
The plans are being developed despite a court ruling last year, which ordered police to stop recording gender-critical views as non-crime hate incidents, which are declarations of wrongdoing added to someone’s criminal record.
