Bill has improved, but concerns remain
The Scottish Government’s original Hate Crime Bill was a major threat to free speech, including evangelism and Christian comment on sexual ethics. After a huge public backlash, Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has made significant concessions. The Bill is less dangerous. But the Government still needs to go further to make sure freedom of speech and expression is not undermined.
References
- 1Response by the Scottish Government to the Justice Committee’s Stage 1 report on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland Bill), 14 December 2020, paras 49-50
- 2Ibid, paras 37-38
- 3Ibid, paras 47 and 50
- 4Ibid, para. 21
- 5Ibid, para. 52
- 6New Statesman, 26 November 2020, see https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2020/11/how-new-hate-crime-bill-reveals-snp-s-unmoored-approach-governance as at 18 January 2021; The Spectator, 28 October 2020, see https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-snp-s-orwellian-hate-crime-bill as at 18 January 2021; The Critic, 29 October 2020, see https://thecritic.co.uk/mind-your-language-even-in-your-own-home/ as at 18 January 2020
- 7Official Report, Justice Committee, Session 5, Scottish Parliament, 27 October 2020, col. 47
- 8Ibid, col. 9
Also see
