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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent

Campaigners urge UK ministers to make music lyrics inadmissible in court

Baroness Shami Chakrabarti
Shami Chakrabarti has tabled an amendment to the victims and courts bill, due to be debated this week. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA

Campaigners are urging ministers to change the law so that music lyrics are inadmissible in court, a shift that they say would stop a practice that disproportionately affects young black men and criminalises creativity.

At present, police can produce lyrics written by defendants, and even flag an appearance in the background of a music video, as evidence that a suspect is affiliated with a gang or involved in criminality.

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