South Wales Police has been forced to abandon controversial guidance critics branded a “de facto blasphemy law” after a free speech backlash and the threat of legal action.
The force confirmed it would “pause” implementation of rules requiring officers to record incidents of so-called “hostility” towards Muslims, following warnings that the policy risked breaching fundamental free expression protections.
The guidance had instructed officers to log material deemed to go beyond “legitimate” discussion of Islam, a definition critics said was vague, subjective and open to abuse.
Opponents argued it risked creating a chilling effect on public debate, effectively empowering individual officers to decide what constituted acceptable criticism of a religion.
The Free Speech Union threatened judicial review unless the policy was withdrawn, while the Conservatives referred the matter to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Lord Young, founder of the Free Speech Union, welcomed the climbdown but said the proposal should never have been introduced.
“Blasphemy laws were repealed in this country 18 years ago, and we will do everything in our power to stop them being brought back by the back door,” he said.
Under the proposed framework, officers would have been required to create records of certain incidents which could potentially be disclosed in employment vetting checks, raising further concerns among critics about the long-term consequences for free speech.
Max Thompson, campaign officer at the Free Speech Union, warned the policy effectively handed police the power to police opinions about religion.
“It is plain to see that this subjective guidance hands officers… the power to decide what constitutes acceptable speech about Islam — which will inevitably have a chilling effect on freedom of expression,” he said.
Shadow Equalities Minister Claire Coutinho also intervened, urging the EHRC to investigate the policy on discrimination grounds.
She said the rules amounted to “a de facto blasphemy law”, arguing they risked creating unequal treatment in how criticism of different religions was recorded and assessed.
South Wales Police had adopted the Government’s non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility but added additional instructions for recording incidents, a move which ultimately proved politically and legally contentious.
The decision to pause the policy marks a significant reversal for the force, amid growing scrutiny over how policing guidelines intersect with free speech, equality law and community cohesion.
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