mr president i abstained on this matter for two reasons
first of all we all accept some discrimination
in all our countries we have religious schools catholic protestant muslim jewish and there is an element of discrimination in those schools because the people who are primarily accepted there are of that faith
i support that
i support faith schools
but the principal reason why i abstained was because this turns the whole principle of jurisprudence upside down
we are innocent until we are proved guilty
that is a cardinal principle certainly of english law and i dare say of law in many other european union countries
this turns the burden of proof the other way round and that frankly is unacceptable
of course we are all against discrimination
we are all in favour of equal treatment but we have to recognise that the principles of law which have guided us throughout the ages remain in place
that is why i abstained
