A new definition of anti-Muslim hate will not restrict freedom of speech, the communities secretary has pledged, as he said that “clear expectations” will still be set for new arrivals and existing communities in Britain to learn English.
MPs were told by Steve Reed that the government had a duty to act against record levels of hate crime against Muslims, but that “you can’t tackle a problem if you can’t describe it”.
He was updating parliament on Monday on a new non-statutory definition for anti-Muslim hate, which was unveiled alongside a wider strategy on social cohesion.
The three-paragraph definition, released alongside a longer document, does not include a reference to race, which is understood to have been a focus of considerable debate among the five-member working group of experts set up to provide the government with the working definition.
Reed told the Commons: “Today, we are adopting a non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility. This gives a clear explanation of unacceptable prejudice, discrimination and hatred targeting Muslims, so we can take action to stop it.
“The definition safeguards our fundamental right to freedom of speech about religion in general or any religion in particular and ensures that concerns raised in the public interest are protected.”
A range of other plans are included in the new Social Cohesion Strategy, including moves to expand powers to tackle extremism by setting up a new whistleblowing route for university staff and giving the Charity Commission powers to shut down charities.
While they were among components that had been trailed, the newly published document emphasised the role of English as a shared language to bring communities together.
The strategy pledged to “review English language provision to identify best practice, and explore how innovation, including digital delivery, can increase the numbers able to speak English, with conclusions published in Autumn 2026”.
Government sources said this was an attempt to address a “fragmented” approach to the teaching of English by agencies ranging from the Department for Work and Pensions to local councils, and would draw on technology to modernise and expanded provision. One outcome of this would be a move away from face-to-face classes towards more online provision.
Other parts of the strategy the government said will mandate citizenship classes in schools, the teaching of digital literacy and “boost faith and literacy in government and wider society”.
In an accompanying foreword, the prime minister states: “In a world where so many people – digital grifters, hostile states, politicians of grievance – have a vested interest in division, we need to be much more active in asserting British values and the responsibilities of integration.”
One of five members of the working group set up to provide the government with the working definition of anti-Muslim hatred told the Guardian that it was a “watershed moment”, which he welcomed but said that it was just a first step.
“It’s a clear and wide-ranging definition, which is important but it’s also a first step towards the real cultural change that is needed when it comes making people realise what is acceptable everyday language,” said Prof Javed Khan, the managing director of Equi, a thinktank that draws on insight from British Muslims.
Khan also expressed concerns that the social cohesion strategy didn’t go far enough towards tackling the growth of far-right extremism and its causes.
“Not enough attention has been paid to the scale of far-right mobilisation and protests, which are sinister and being orchestrated either from inside the country or elsewhere. But what we are now seeing are important first steps,” he said.
Paul Holmes, the shadow communities secretary, said the strategy lacked ambition and action to deliver tangible change and went on to attack the government on what he said was “mixed messages” on engagement with groups such as the Muslim Council of Britain.
Holmes said that the proposed definition still raised serious questions and cited a recommendation by Jonathan Hall KC, the government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, that any definition should provide examples of free speech that were not considered anti-Muslim hatred.
“It risks hindering free speech under the law and legitimate criticism of Islamism,” added Holmes.
