CAMPAIGNERS today welcomed a proposed law to make hate crimes which target people on the grounds of their sexuality, gender identity, or a disability an aggravated offence.

An amendment from Labour MP Rachel Taylor to the Crimes and Policing Bill in the House of Lords will mean a crime is aggravated if a victim is targeted because of protected characteristics, and will carry a higher penalty.

The amendment also covers victims targeted because of their sex, which is something the government says is part of its mission to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade.

Campaign group Stonewall welcomed the government delivering on a manifesto commitment and said it had campaigned for the change for many years.

Ms Taylor said more than 30,000 hate crimes against people in England and Wales had been recorded by police as linked to their sexual orientation, transgender identity, or disability between March 2024 and 2025.