Women's and transgender rights groups are holding opposing protests in Edinburgh. Photo: Chris Strickland
The SNP's new hate crime law is unworkable and should be withdrawn, Scotland's former most senior judge has said.
Lord Hope of Craighead, a former deputy chief justice, accused ministers of “politics gestures”, which led to the fact that the law was widely misunderstood.
Police Scotland has received more than 8,000 complaints since the law came into force on April 1, many of which officers believe were made to incite personal or political vendettas.
Ahead of its implementation, Police Scotland and the Government urged the public to report all incidents which they believed were motivated by “hate”.
Lord Hope of Craighead stated that ” “hate crimes is the worst name for a bill”;
Lord Hope said it gave the impression that all forms of hatred were criminalized, but this was not the case.
“Hate crime is the worst possible name for the bill,” Lord Hope said. “It brings up all sorts of thoughts in people's minds, but they have no idea what the bill is actually about.
“I have no problem with the purpose of the bill. But it misfired because it uses a very provocative title that makes people think there's more to it than there really is when you read the details.” He added: “I think that it is unworkable if the police have to manage it because they have the burden of sifting through and recording a lot of complaints from people who are not really aware of the details of the legislation.”
Lord Hope, 85, who was Scotland's most senior judge as judge general between 1989 and 1996, then served as deputy chief justice of the UK Supreme Court between 2009 and 2013.
He said that the hate crime law would create an “extraordinary burden” on police due to obligations to record and report every offence, including the complainant's protected characteristics.
Being forced to sift through a “myriad of complaints” from people unaware of the details of the law would make it “unworkable”, he said.
“This is an exceptional position,” he told The Times. “I've never seen anything like this before and it's no wonder the police are overwhelmed trying to pull it off.
” Here, the gesture policy meant sending a message that was misunderstood by people who were unaware of the requirements and protections contained in the law , and this creates problems for the police.”
He quoted Telegraph columnist Fraser Nelson as saying that “Scotland is now the world's laboratory of bad ideas.”
The Hate Crime Act merged existing laws and introduced “hate speech” offenses against such groups , like transgender people, transvestites, disabled people and older people.
Lord Hope said a more effective course of action would be more effective. the purpose was to amend existing public order legislation.
The SNP blamed “misinformation” about the law for problems with its introduction. But critics of the law said they could not ignore such drastic intervention from a man of Lord Hope's stature.
“David Hope is perhaps the greatest Scottish legal mind of his generation,” – Murdo Fraser, Conservative Party member , Member of Parliament. , said. “If he says so, then the Scottish National Party (SNP) is sadly mistaken.”
“Fatally flawed law”
Sharon Dowie MP, Scotland's Conservative deputy justice spokesman, said: “This is a devastating critique of Humza Yousaf's indiscriminate hatred.” criminal law, written by one of Scotland's most senior lawyers.
“Lord Hope correctly identifies the naivety at the heart of this unworkable SNP law and the intolerable strain it places on Scotland's overstretched police force and the wider legal system.
“That's why he – like the Scottish Conservatives – is calling for it to be repealed.
“This fatally flawed law should never have seen the light of day, but was inexplicably passed with the support of Labor and the Lib Dems.
“Within a week of its introduction, it was condemned by police officers, legal experts and the Scottish public. Humza Yusuf must swallow his pride, do the right thing and get rid of it before it causes further damage.”
The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.
“Being a-isn't illegal.” -hole'
Meanwhile, Scottish Green MP Ross Greer said the Scottish Government's Hate Crime Act does not make it illegal to be a “hole”.
In a conversation with the BBC Podlitical podcast Mr Greer, a senior member of the Scottish Greens, said unpleasant or offensive behavior was not illegal.
“It's not illegal to be an ass now,” he said.
“It wasn't illegal to be an asshole before, and it still isn't illegal to be last week.” hole.”
But he added: “That doesn’t mean you have to be.”
Mr. Greer, 29, stressed that he did not mean specifically J. K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, has been vocal about the new law, but made broad generalizations.
He continued: “Just because abusive behavior is still legal doesn’t mean you should get out.” Houses”. your way of being offensive.
“There are many things that are not illegal, but in polite society we don't usually encourage people to do them.
“We should all try to be as pleasant and decent to each other, whether the law allows it or not.
“I think that as a society we should be held to a higher standard than the criminal law.
“ If the highest standard we can set for ourselves and each other is criminal law, then that is a terribly low standard.”
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