A proposal to give racial and religious groups in this country protection under a libel law being considered by the British Parliament was made here yesterday in the House of Lords.
The proposal was put forward by Lord Silkin who said that the Jews have been particular targets of such hate campaigns and that as the law stands in Britain they have little recourse. All they can do is obtain a court decision that there was no justification for the libel, Lord Silkin said.
A government spokesman opposed the proposal on the grounds that it would be difficult to administer. He was joined in this position by a number of other Lords, some of whom felt that it would be most damaging for Jews to state that they needed special protection in Britain. In view of the objections and his own fears that it would be difficult to effectively word a clause to protect a group, Lord Silkin with drew his amendment.
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