A very busy parliamentary week for law and religion…
On Monday, there was a debate in Westminster Hall on an e-petition about the slaughter of animals without pre-stunning. Replying to the debate, the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Daniel Zeichner, said this:
“Let me be clear from the outset: it is the Government’s preference that all animals should be stunned before slaughter. However, the Government respect the right of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their beliefs. We therefore intend to continue to allow the religious slaughter of animals for consumption by Muslims and Jews. We believe that is an important religious freedom, as we have heard; many have spoken passionately about that point.
There is a long history of upholding this freedom, set down in legislation since the Slaughter of Animals Act 1933, which contained an exemption from stunning for religious slaughter by Jews and Muslims. Since then, animal welfare legislation concerning all slaughter methods has continued to develop, with new requirements introduced through EU legislation in 2013 that have now been assimilated into UK law. When animals are slaughtered either by the Jewish method or the Muslim method without prior stunning, there are additional animal welfare rules that apply to ensure that animals are spared avoidable pain, suffering or distress during the slaughter process.”
(See also our recently-updated index on religious slaughter.)
Freedom of Expression (Religion or Belief System) Bill
On Tuesday, the Commons debated a Ten-Minute Rule motion by Nick Timothy (West Suffolk, Con) for leave “to bring in a Bill to make provision about freedom of expression in relation to religion or belief systems; and for connected purposes”. The motion arose as a result of two separate prosecutions for religiously-aggravated public order offences: Hamit Coskun and Martin Frost were each prosecuted after separate incidents in which they set had fire to parts of the Quran.
Leave was granted without either an opposing speech or a division – but the chances of the Bill becoming law are minute.
Humanist weddings
On Thursday, there was a debate on humanist weddings/marriage in Westminster Hall. In reply, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, Alex Davies-Jones, said that the Law Commission’s report on weddings law had put forward a number of complex and significant recommendations and
“It is absolutely essential that those are considered carefully and in full, and that is exactly what we are doing. I stress that that does not mean the issue of humanist marriage is being overlooked. On the contrary, the Government are actively considering the matter of humanist weddings as part of their broader review of the Law Commission’s report.”
So continue watching this space…
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
The Commons report stage debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill began on Friday but was not concluded. It will be resumed on Friday 20 June.
Higgs v Farmor’s School again
Readers will no doubt recall the case of Higgs v Farmor’s School [2025] EWCA Civ 109, in which the Court of Appeal ruled that the claimant, Ms Kristie Higgs, had been unfairly dismissed after she had shared “homophobic and prejudiced” posts on her personal Facebook account. The CA refused the school permission to appeal and the Supreme Court has also now refused permission. There is a helpful piece on the refusal in Local Government Lawyer, here.
Law Commission consultation on New Funerary Methods: briefing sessions
We have previously noted the Law Commission’s Consultation Paper on New Funerary Methods. The Commission has announced that there will be four briefings on the consultation: one in London, one in Leeds, and two online:
- London: Tuesday 1 July from14:30 – 16:00 at the Ministry of Justice, 102 Petty France SW1H 9AJ: book at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1401395885819.
- Online: Tuesday 8 July from 15:00 – 16:30: book at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1401460840099.
- Leeds: Wednesday 16 July from 14:30 – 16:00 at G.13, Maurice Keyworth Building, Moorland Road LS6 1AN: book at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1401415093269.
- Online event: Wednesday 23 July from11:00 – 12:30: book at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1401554710869.
Quick Links
- Michael Foran, SSRN: Sex, Gender Recognition, and Equality Law: For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16.
- Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter: “Otto per Mille”: The Catholic Church vs the Italian Government on Religious Tax.
- Rosalind Young, Lexology: Patel v Patel – When executors of a Will cannot agree on funeral arrangements for a deceased, what can the Court do?