Penalties for conduct intended to provoke a breach of the peace will be increased as soon as a suitable opportunity occurs, Home Secretary Henry Brooke assured the House of Commons last night.
He gave the assurance in a written reply to increasing demands by deputies pressing for the addition of the words “inciting to hatred of racial groups” to the categories of offenses punishable under the Public Meeting Act of 1908 and section five of the Public Order Act of 1936 which bans “threatening abusive or insulting words” uttered with “intent to provoke a breach of the peace.”
The issue grew out of an upsurge of public incitement at meetings organized by British fascist and neo-Nazi groups last year. The Home Secretary said the Government intended to act to increase penalties for offenses under the two laws. Those penalties on summary conviction now provide for three months imprisonment or a fine of 50 pounds ($140) or both. Conviction under the Public Meeting Act can bring a fine of five pounds ($14) or one month imprisonment.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
