Asia Bibi should be offered asylum in Britain

Hers is a test case for Ministers, for Muslim organisations in Britain, for free speech – for what sort of country we want to be.

It was odious to burn an effigy of the Grenfell Tower – but those responsible should not have been arrested

The police should not arrest people for being offensive. Not just because burglaries and violence matter more. But because we need the freedom to offend.

The European Court of Human Rights has set a problematic precedent on religious freedom

In justifying their defence of Austria’s ‘blasphemy law’, its judges seem to be not just expanding but changing the relevant protections in the Convention.

Penny Mordaunt: The twelve new rules of politics

Ideas and vision are necessary, but they are not sufficient. People need to see results and to achieve them they need to take part.

Drawing a veil over the incident

All concerned want to save face over the Johnson burqa row – May, Lewis and the man himself. Here’s a rough and ready way to correct its mishandling.

Iain Dale: Silly error, or malevolent ploy? Either way, Johnson has done himself no favours among Tory MPs.

The MPs, of course, pick the final two in a leadership race. Plus: the Westminster Transfer Window. And: my workaholic holiday.

Munira Mirza: Critiquing Islamist fundamentalist practice is not an ‘attack on Muslim women’

Johnson’s critics who accuse him of Islamophobia are either confused or disingenuous. Their tactics harm mainstream Muslims.

Political beliefs ought to be the subject of robust debate, not protected with legal cotton wool

The way equalities law applies to “philosophical belief” has created a messy courtroom battleground for all sorts of angry fringe groups to seek protection.

Rob Lyons: It’s time to send McNanny packing

Holyrood has led the race for greater state intervention in people’s lives, and power has never felt more removed from voters’ concerns.

The Gosport horror. There must be prosecutions.

The hard paradox is that while older people are electorally powerful – perhaps more than ever – they are also individually vulnerable.

Martin Parsons: The Conservative Party is not ‘Islamophobic’ – and we should be wary of the term

A handful of ordinary members may let the rest of us down, but I have seen no sign that our Party systemically encourages anti-Muslim hatred.

Robert Halfon: AK47s, pluralism, war, students, cigars – and I get high. What I saw amidst Kurdistan’s fledgeling democracy.

I hope that, one day, it is no longer just an autonomous region in Iraq, but gets the independence it deserves.

Mohammed Amin: When does criticising Islam morph into inciting hatred of Muslims?

I personally don’t care if someone burns a copy of the Quran, provided they bought it and do so without creating a fire or smoke hazard. But it is illegal in the UK.

Iain Dale: Madeley thinks he got the better of Williamson. I beg to differ.

Plus: A crazy clergyman, a bonkers Imam, and unreason on obesity. Richard Holden’s innocence. And: I am ready for Desert Island Dicks.

Britain and abortion. Women are more likely to support new restrictions.

It’s a counter-intuitive take – but it’s what the sum of opinion polling in recent years tends to suggest.