Conservative Shadow Equalities Minister Claire Coutinho has launched a scathing attack on Labour’s plans to introduce a state-sanctioned definition of Islamophobia, warning it could allow grooming gangs to operate with “impunity” whilst creating a dangerous “culture of censorship” across Britain.
The explosive intervention comes as Housing Secretary Steve Reed faces mounting pressure over the controversial policy, having inherited responsibility for the definition following Angela Rayner’s resignation from government in September over her £40,000 stamp duty underpayment scandal.
Ms Coutinho told The Times that Labour’s proposed definition would “intensify the culture of censorship that allowed the grooming gangs to carry out their crimes with impunity,” arguing it would effectively shut down “difficult but necessary conversations” about child sexual exploitation, gender equality and Islamist extremism.
An official definition of Islamophobia, specifically designed to be adopted by our institutions and public services, will shut down difficult but necessary conversations about grooming gangs, gender equality, and even Islamist extremism,” the Shadow Minister warned. “It would create a special status for one group above others, which risks further breeding resentment and making our community cohesion problems worse.”
The controversy centres on a working group established by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner earlier this year before her resignation, tasked with creating a definition for “Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia” within six months. The group, chaired by former Attorney General Dominic Grieve KC, was set up to provide recommendations on “appropriate and sensitive language” to describe discrimination against Muslims.
Ministers have faced fierce criticism after attempting to limit public input into the plans by circulating a call for evidence to only a select few groups. The consultation process was dramatically disrupted when Ms Coutinho discovered a link to the online consultation form and shared it widely on social media, exposing what she called Labour’s attempt at a “secret consultation.”
“Labour wanted a secret ‘Islamophobia’ consultation, inviting only handpicked groups to take part,” Ms Coutinho stated. “But we exposed them.”
In response to the criticism, a source close to Mr Reed insisted: “The communities secretary is crystal clear – free speech must be protected alongside rightly tackling abhorrent anti-Muslim hatred. People don’t have a right to not being offended, and we are not going to bring in blasphemy laws by the back door. There will be no infringement on free speech whatsoever.”
The debate has intensified following Sir Keir Starmer’s dramatic U-turn in June when he announced a full national inquiry into grooming gangs after months of resistance. The Prime Minister accepted the recommendations of Baroness Louise Casey’s audit, which found institutional failure to protect children from sexual exploitation by organised groups.
Ms Coutinho suggested Labour’s push for the Islamophobia definition is motivated by electoral concerns rather than genuine anti-discrimination efforts. “In reality, Labour is not seeking to change criminal law. Instead, this is a misguided attempt to stave off the electoral threat that The Muslim Vote candidates pose to Labour seats,” she argued.
The Shadow Minister pointed to existing legislation that already makes violence and harassment illegal, noting that perpetrators of anti-Muslim hate crimes have been successfully prosecuted under current laws. “These are disgusting acts which are, rightly, already illegal – as evidenced by the people who have already been convicted under existing criminal law,” she said.
Thirty-seven members of the House of Lords warned in July that the proposed definition could have “a chilling effect on free speech” with “serious repercussions for those who fall foul of the definition.” They demanded the government drop the word “Islamophobia” from its definition and make it public for parliamentary debate.
The Network of Sikh Organisations has also raised concerns, warning that the definition could risk “censoring seminal moments in Sikh history” and create “a hierarchy of religions” whilst providing “cover for extremists, who want to shut down legitimate discussion on religion, historical truths and issues like grooming gangs.”
Lord Singh of Wimbledon, director of the NSO, told Freedom Watch International that special definitions for some groups “serve not only to create a hierarchy of religions, but also provide cover for extremists.
Legal experts have warned the definition could tie police hands in investigating serious crimes. The Free Speech Union’s Lord Young of Acton stated: “We have put the government on notice that we won’t hesitate to bring legal action if it rolls out an official definition of Islamophobia.”
The Labour Party adopted the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims’ definition in March 2019, which defines Islamophobia as “rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” However, critics argue this conflates race and religion and is so broadly drafted it could chill legitimate criticism of Islam.
Former Labour MP Khalid Mahmood warned an Islamophobia definition “will do nothing to create a society where everyone feels safe and welcome, but rather lead to even more division and mistrust.” Counter-extremism advisor Haras Rafiq cautioned there is “a real danger that this term could be weaponised to silence legitimate debate.”
New polling by J L Partners found Labour’s support would plummet from 23% to 20% if the Government implements the controversial measure, with Reform UK potentially gaining over 100 seats as a result. Only 37% of respondents believe Britain requires an official definition of Islamophobia, whilst 45% consider it unnecessary.
Ms Coutinho urged the government to learn from “the horrific mistakes made over the grooming gangs and dangerous gender ideology” by not putting “some groups in society on a pedestal, free from legitimate challenge.”
“Labour must scrap this definition now,” she demanded.
The controversy has reignited debate about the grooming gangs scandal after Baroness Casey’s report found that authorities’ fear of appearing racist contributed to hundreds of girls suffering severe sexual abuse. The report addressed institutional failures that allowed groups of men to target vulnerable girls for sexual exploitation over extended periods.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, whose party now leads in some national polls, previously hit out at Labour MPs who voted down a bill to set up a national inquiry in January, demanding: “What have they got to hide?
The National Crime Agency has now been tasked with reopening over 800 historic cases of group-based child abuse as part of the government’s response to the Casey Report, which found that victims “cannot rely upon the criminal justice system” and that it has “badly let them down in the past.
As the debate continues to rage, critics warn that implementing an official Islamophobia definition could make it impossible to address concerns about child sexual exploitation without facing accusations of discrimination, potentially recreating the very conditions that allowed abuse to flourish unchecked for decades.
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Image Credit:
Official portrait of Claire Coutinho MP (crop 2, 2024) — photo by House of Commons, CC BY 3.0
