British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to appoint an “anti-Muslim hostility tsar”alongside his new definition of Islamophobia.
The plans are set to be unveiled on Monday as part of the Labour governments new cohesion strategy.
A leaked draft suggests that the “special representative” will “champion efforts across the UK to tackle hostility and hatred directed at Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim”.
Critics argue that the new definition could act as a backdoor “blasphemy law” and limit free speech.
The Express reports: A document, leaked to the Spectator magazine, features a crackdown on extremism and names Islamists as the biggest threat to community cohesion. It also outlines fresh demands that new arrivals in Britain seek to integrate and speak good English
Back in December, Sir Keir Starmer assured MPs there would be “no introduction or reintroduction of a blasphemy law, either by statute, by judicial overreach, or by a non-statutory definition of Islamophobia.”
But the document reveals there will be a crackdown.
It read: “Those who come here must make a genuine effort to integrate into and engage with our shared way of life.”
It also raises concerns about antisemitism, saying it was “being normalised in many corners of society, from our schools and universities to workplaces and the NHS.”
A source close to Housing Minister Steve Reed, whose department was integral to coordinating the document, declined to comment to The Spectator on the leaked paper, but implied it was not the final draft.
The report states clearly that Islamists are responsible for three-quarters of the police’s counterterror workload and 94% of all terror-related deaths in the past 25 years.
The plan also rejects calls, predominantly from British Muslims, for blasphemy laws in the UK.
Following the case of the religious studies teacher at Batley Grammar school, who was forced into hiding after showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, the document promises to “stand against those who try to intimidate, threaten and harass others because they are offended by so-called ‘blasphemy’. We do not recognise blasphemy law in the UK.”