THEY are calling it the revenge of Rowan Atkinson, the comedian famous for his role as the scheming Blackadder.

This week members of the House of Lords are set to clash with the government over its proposed Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, vociferously opposed by Atkinson and many others as a threat to freedom of speech.

“We are hoping the peers will give the bill even more of a trashing than Blackadder gives Baldrick,” said one campaigner. Government sources fear that Labour peers will join an alliance of Tories, Liberal Democrats and cross-benchers.

The bill, which extends current laws against incitement to racial hatred to protect people of all faiths, has already been defeated in parliament three times. Opponents say it could potentially be used to prosecute anyone criticising or mocking a religion.

It was rejected by the Lords just before the general election when the government tried to get it through as part of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act. The government subsequently made the proposal a manifesto commitment and is pressing ahead with it again.

Supporters of the bill say it will prevent people being “victimised” because of their faith. Ministers say it will end the anomaly whereby religious minorities such as Jews and Sikhs are already protected — because they are also racial groups — but not Muslims.

The proposed bill has been denounced by human rights groups and others as a “dangerous new blasphemy law”. Stephen Fry, the actor, said the plans were unworkable and not needed. “Religion, surely, if it is worth anything, doesn’t need protection against anything I can say,” he has said.

Atkinson has said: “A law which attempts to say that you can ridicule ideas, as long as they are not religious ideas, is a very peculiar law indeed.”

The Tories and the Lib Dems, along with many Labour peers, believe the proposed law would undermine freedom of speech. The bill is to have its second reading in the Lords on Tuesday. A broad coalition led by Lord Lester, the Lib Dem peer, is planning to put forward amendments aimed at protecting freedom of speech.

“The government has threatened to use the Parliament Act to ram this bill through,” said Lester. “It would lead to the worst possible result if this defective legislation were pushed through, so we need to present amendments which would protect groups like the Muslims, but also safeguard freedom of expression.”

Yesterday Baroness Cox, a Tory peer, said: “There is also concern the proposed law may increase tensions between communities rather than reduce them.”

She points out that a similar law introduced in Australia has led to the prosecution of two Christian pastors. Many Muslims there now regret the introduction of the law, fearing it might rebound against them.

Cox also points out that under the proposed bill, people accused of inciting religious hatred could not rely on the defence of claiming they had simply been speaking the truth about a particular religion.

The implications for comedians are serious. Lord Garel-Jones, the Tory peer, pointed to Monty Python’s satire on Jesus, The Life of Brian.

Under the proposed law, if someone accused the makers of inciting religious hatred, they might face prosecution.

“I want us to be able to make things like that,” said Garel-Jones. “I want not to lose the ability to make a similar film about Mohammed. That’s where my line lies.”

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