Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will issue guidance to the police on ensuring that peaceful expressions of (a) opinions that may cause religious offence and (b) other opinions are not treated as hate crimes.

On the matter of guidance to the police, I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 16 May to Question 5882-84.

On the matter of police investigation, the Home Office collects information on crimes and their outcomes recorded by the police but does not hold information on the nature of their investigations.