I welcome the Welsh Government’s position of tackling hate crime as a priority and it continues to take a zero-tolerance approach, as each and every one of us should, to hate crime. It’s right that the tackling hate crime and incidents framework covers hate crime of all kinds, including race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and age. There can be no hierarchy of hate and our resolve to tackle all crimes of this nature must be absolute. The challenge for us is to ensure that the intentions and guidance in the framework translate positively into action and change in real life for people in our communities across Wales. All of us in elected and public life have a responsibility and duty of care regarding how we conduct ourselves and the way in which we choose to communicate. What may just be words for one person have the potential to inflict pain and, in some cases, incite hate on another.

I was shocked, but sadly not surprised, to learn over the weekend of a rise in homophobic attacks since the EU referendum vote in May. Figures released by the charity Galop show that homophobic attacks rose by 147 per cent in the people surveyed in the same three-month period following this year’s Brexit vote compared to the same time last year. And this is just the people surveyed, the people who felt able to share their experiences. The real figures could be even higher—