Force says policy under review pending national guidance after referral to equality watchdog
SOUTH WALES POLICE has confirmed to The Herald it is pausing controversial guidance relating to the recording of anti-Muslim hostility following criticism from Conservative MP Claire Coutinho.
The force issued the statement after Ms Coutinho, Shadow Minister for Equalities, formally referred South Wales Police to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), claiming the guidance risked creating a “de-facto blasphemy law” around discussion of Islam.
In a statement to The Pembrokeshire Herald, South Wales Police said: “We are pausing the aligning with this definition in order to consider whether to maintain or amend the adoption, pending guidance from NPCC. The force remains committed to ensuring the public safety of all of our communities.”
The response appears to indicate the force is reconsidering whether to continue using the definition in question while awaiting guidance from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).
Ms Coutinho had accused the force of instructing officers to record comments deemed to go beyond “legitimate” discussion of Islam, arguing that no equivalent standard applied to other faiths.
In a letter to the EHRC chair, she wrote that the policy risked creating “a more restrictive category of speech that applies only in the context of one religion”.
The controversy centres on concerns about how non-crime incidents are recorded and whether lawful speech could be logged by police, potentially affecting public confidence in free expression and equal treatment under the law.
South Wales Police has not said whether the guidance will ultimately be scrapped, amended or reinstated following the review.
