A dispute over free expression has been sparked by Sir Keir Starmer's opening of the door to an Islamophobia law.

 In the Commons, Labour MP Tahir Ali questioned the Prime Minister on his commitment to "prohibiting the desecration of all religious texts and the prophets of the Abrahamic religions."

Sir Keir responded by maintaining that his Government was committed to tackling all types of hatred including “Islamophobia in all its forms”.

“Desecration is awful and I think it should be condemned. We are committed to tackling all forms of hatred and division including, of course, Islamophobia in all of its forms,” he told MPs.

Labour has not ruled out adopting a controversial definition of Islamophobia. Angela Rayner, the party’s deputy leader, told the Commons in September that the Government was “actively considering our approach to Islamophobia, including definitions” and would “provide further updates in due course”.

A definition of Islamophobia would not be legally binding, but organisations would be urged to adopt it in a similar way to the anti-Semitism definition accepted under Theresa May in 2016.

Campaigners say the concept must be clearly codified amid rising prejudice towards Muslims, including attacks targeted at mosques in the wake of the Southport killings.

However, critics fear it could amount to a “blasphemy law” and senior Conservatives have insisted it must not be allowed to stifle legitimate criticism of Islam.

At the centre of the controversy is a definition of Islamophobia that was adopted by Labour’s national executive committee in 2022. It was based on one proposed by an all-party parliamentary group (APPG).

This defined Islamophobia as being “rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness”.

Asked specifically a fortnight ago by Afzal Khan, the Labour MP, whether he would back the APPG definition of Islamophobia, Sir Keir said: “Whatever the hatred, there has been a rise in the past 12 or so months, and the whole House will join me in saying that we must meet any rise in hatred in whatever form it is, including Islamophobia.

“We are working with others to take that forward, and I am happy to meet him further on that.”

However, any adoption of the definition is likely to provoke a backlash from senior Tories. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said: “Labour must urgently rule out introducing a new blasphemy law or adopting the flawed Islamophobia definition.

“Free speech is under threat from within the Labour Party. It’s high time Starmer showed some leadership rather than constantly kowtowing to sectarian interests.”

Anti-Semitic hate crimes rose at eight times the rate of Islamophobia in wake of Oct 7.

David Davis, the former Cabinet minister, tweeted: “For centuries, one of the most important features of Britain’s freedom of speech is the absolute right to criticise religion.

”Freedom of speech is fundamental to everything we have and everything we stand for. I regret that Keir Starmer did not make that clear to Mr Ali at PMQs.”

Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, said: “It’s becoming clearer every day that free speech is at breaking point under this Labour government. Their proposed definition of Islamophobia will effectively ban criticism of Islam. No religion can ever be above scrutiny or challenge, and no one has the right to be offended.”

Toby Young, the founder of the Free Speech Union, said: “The APPG’s definition of Islamophobia is ridiculously broad. It includes saying the religion of Islam has, at various points since the seventh century, been imposed on populations by force, which is historically incontestable.”