Free to call a police horse gay: Section 5 reformed at last
Removal of controversial 'insult' clause from Public Order Act is a victory for campaigners
THE BRITISH public will soon be free to call a police horse gay, insult Scientology or growl at a dog without fear of prosecution, after Home Secretary Theresa May announced a fundamental change to the Public Order Act.
Section 5 of the act allowed the police and courts to determine what is insulting. It will now be amended in what campaigners have called a victory for free speech, The Guardian reports.
The act, which covers both the spoken and written word, will be altered so that a person can only be found guilty of an offence if they use threatening or abusive words or behaviour. No longer will "insulting" words or behaviour be covered.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It comes after a long campaign against the act supported by, among others, human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell and Tory MP David Davis.
The Repeal Section 5 campaign notes that an Oxford student, Sam Brown, was arrested under the act after saying to a police officer: "Excuse me, do you realise your horse is gay?"
Teenager Kyle Little was arrested and prosecuted over a "daft little growl" at two dogs, despite their owners not supporting the move. Little's conviction was later appealed at Newcastle Crown Court in a case which cost the taxpayer £8,000.
An unnamed 15-year-old who demonstrated outside the Church of Scientology's London headquarters with a sign calling the religion a "dangerous cult" was arrested and charged in 2008, before the CPS dropped the case.
May told MPs the government would accept changes to the act suggested by the House of Lords in December after the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, had assured her "that the word 'insulting' could safely be removed without the risk of undermining the ability of the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] to bring prosecutions".
Simon Calvert, Reform Section 5 campaign director, said: "People of all shades of opinion have suffered at the hands of Section 5. By accepting the Lords' amendment to reform it, the government has managed to please the widest possible cross-section of society. They have done the right thing and we congratulate them."
However, lawyer Adam Wagner at the Human Rights Blog asks if the changes go far enough, pointing out the police and courts can still decide if "we have sent grossly offensive messages on Facebook, Twitter and in practically any other communications medium" under section 127 of the 2003 Communications Act.
He points to the prosecutions of Liam Stacey, the student jailed for 56 days after tweeting a racist comment about Fabrice Muamba and, Paul Chambers who was prosecuted for making a joke about blowing up an airport on Twitter, to argue section 127 needs reform in the wake of the changes to Section 5.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Women are getting their own baseball league again
In the Spotlight The league is on track to debut in 2026
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Giant TVs are becoming the next big retail commodity
Under the Radar Some manufacturers are introducing TVs over 8 feet long
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
When will mortgage rates finally start coming down?
The Explainer Much to potential homebuyers' chagrin, mortgage rates are still elevated
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Last hopes for justice for UK's nuclear test veterans
Under the Radar Thousands of ex-service personnel say their lives have been blighted by aggressive cancers and genetic mutations
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
What does the G20 summit say about the new global order?
Today's Big Question Donald Trump's election ushers in era of 'transactional' geopolitics that threatens to undermine international consensus
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Labour risking the 'special relationship'?
Today's Big Question Keir Starmer forced to deny Donald Trump's formal complaint that Labour staffers are 'interfering' to help Harris campaign
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
UK cedes Chagos Islands to Mauritius, minus US base
Speed Read Mauritius has long argued it was forced to give up the islands in 1965 in return for independence from Britain
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The rules on what gifts MPs can accept from donors
The Explainer It's the 'system we have' says Labour cabinet minister as campaigners calls for overhaul of the ministerial code
By The Week Staff Published