'HATE' BID PRESSURE Sir Keir Starmer under pressure to scrap Labour’s controversial plan to impose Islamophobia definition

PM Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure to scrap his controversial plan to impose a definition of Islamophobia. 

Top Whitehall staff are considering ways to “quietly drop” Labour's manifesto promise, The Sun understands.

But insiders said that binning the definition will require Downing Street, who are still wedded to the idea. 

They said the main stumbling block is the huge number of MPs whose constituencies can be swayed by Muslim voters. 

A government source told The Sun: “We want to bury the Islamophobia definition – we believe that current equalities laws already fully cover issues around prejudice against Muslim people.” 

Campaigners have warned that a new islamophobia definition would crush freedoms to criticise political Islamism – and would even risk the ability to talk about grooming gangs. 

Shadow Equalities Minister Claire Coutinho warned the idea is "politically motivated". 

Ministers have established a controversial working group to provide recommendations on “appropriate and sensitive language” to describe “unacceptable treatment, prejudice and discrimination against Muslims”. 

The group was slammed for attempting to limit public participation to only a few groups. 

Housing Secretary Steve Reed assumed responsibility for the definition after taking over from his disgraced predecessor, Angela Rayner. 

A source close to the Secretary of State said: “The Communities Secretary is crystal clear – free speech must be protected alongside rightly tackling abhorrent anti-muslim hatred.

"People don’t have a right to not being offended, and we are not going to bring in blasphemy laws by the back door.

"There will be no infringement on free speech whatsoever.”