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Free Speech Union’s Lawyers on Standby As Hate Crime Act Comes Into Force

by Richard Eldred
31 March 2024 5:00 PM

The Free Speech Union (FSU) has taken steps to safeguard civil liberties in Scotland, as a controversial new Hate Crime and Public Order Act is poised to come into effect. The Scotsman has the exclusive.

The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act will… [make] it an offence to stir up hatred on grounds of age, disability, religion, sexual orientation and transgender identity. …

The legislation has come under fire from opponents who claim it could lead to a chilling of free speech and be open to vexatious complaints. …

The FSU is already supporting Tory MSP Murdo Fraser, who has threatened legal action against Police Scotland after it recorded a social media comment he made as a “hate incident”.

Writing in Scotland on Sunday, Mr. Young said: “At the Free Speech Union, the advocacy group I created in 2020, we have been preparing for this moment for some time. When the Act received royal assent three years ago, we set up an office in Edinburgh, appointed a local man to be its director and created a Scottish advisory council consisting of prominent public figures committed to freedom of expression.”

He added: “We anticipate that tens of thousands of hate crimes will be reported in the next months, particularly as Police Scotland have said that, under the new law, ‘threatening or abusive material’ communicated via social media posts and ‘through public performance of a play’, which includes stand-up comedy, could be a ‘hate crime’.”

“I expect the vast majority of these complaints won’t go anywhere, but unless Mr Fraser prevails the police will painstakingly record every one as a hate incident.”

Mr Young said he was perhaps “being too sanguine about what percentage of complaints will end up in court”.

He said: “Just in case Police Scotland do engage in such zealous over-enforcement, the Free Speech Union has put an arrangement in place with one of Scotland’s top legal firms so we can have a solicitor on hand if any of our members are hauled in for questioning.”

Worth reading in full.

Stop Press: The Free Speech Union is helping Murdo Fraser MSP to get Police Scotland to remove a ‘non-crime hate incident’ (NCHI) recorded against him for a tweet that criticised the SNP Government’s ‘Non-Binary Equality Action Plan’ and to change the national guidance it’s following whereby every report of a ‘hate crime’, no matter how trivial or vexatious, is automatically recorded as an NCHI. You can support the Free Speech Union’s Scottish Fighting Fund here.

Tags: Free SpeechFSU ScotlandHate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) ActMurdo FraserToby Young

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21 Comments
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ChrisA
ChrisA
1 year ago

It doesn’t seem like rocket science, this law is designed to be used to beat sane people over the head until they lose their minds and join the cult.
Simply turn the intentionally wobbly insanity against its masters, any Scot can file a NCHI against Hamza each day, and the police are required to log it, repeat for the entire SNP filth and you have the most legally “Hatefull” people on the planet within a week.

Last edited 1 year ago by ChrisA
124
-1
soundofreason
soundofreason
1 year ago
Reply to  ChrisA

Start with a complaint about his ‘white’ speech.

94
0
RTSC
RTSC
1 year ago
Reply to  soundofreason

White’s aren’t protected. They’re considered fair game by the Thought Police.

12
0
varmint
varmint
1 year ago
Reply to  ChrisA

It would really cause a huge headache if we all just started to complain right left and centre about every single thing. ——“Officer I bought my wife a shot put and she says that is offensive because it makes her feel fat”—- “Officer I think the white man next door to me is racist because he hates the smell of curry coming from my kitchen” ——“Officer I was passing this persons house and I heard them say to their wife that men cannot be women” —–“Officer I heard Mr Jones say he wants no more migrants in his town”——–Have the police not got enough to do already? ——What about all the burglaries, stabbings, shoplifting, statues knocked over, silly climate activists chucking soup at paintings and on and on and on.? ————–As that old song said “There may be trouble ahead”

27
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Mogwai
Mogwai
1 year ago

Pretty sure that if I lived in Scotland I’d find myself getting into hot water aplenty, and I’d be getting a rap sheet as long as my arm in record time. For instance, calling these people what they are; complete Mongtards. It’s quite surreal and disturbing because I’ve never seen so many in one place before, and this was apparently only yesterday. Topic of the conference says it all really. I mean, what did they think they were protecting themselves from? Sometimes I despair at the sort of people I’m forced to share the planet with;

”Look at the fluoride stares on these lobotomised Covid mongs.

Not a functioning fucking brain cell between them.”

https://twitter.com/ScottyGoesAgain/status/1774371242558070896

50
-1
AethelredTheReadier
AethelredTheReadier
1 year ago
Reply to  Mogwai

And for me agreeing with you, could I also end up in hot water? I rather like a spa actually…

21
-1
Mogwai
Mogwai
1 year ago
Reply to  AethelredTheReadier

LOL, yes I’m sure even for ‘liking’ or sharing anything deemed remotely ‘hateful’ you’d be joining me on the naughty step.
Anyhoo, just so’s the peeps in Scotland are aware….if you fancy posting anything you’d normally post, but from tomorrow it’s suddenly classed as too ‘naughty’, when the police come and raid your house to arrest you ( ‘lesbian Nana’-style ) and you go to hide your device, they’ve now got ‘Digi Dogs’, that’ll sniff out said electrical weapon of hate. This will get the curtains twitching won’t it?

”Scotland’s new Hate Crime Act comes into effect on April 1 and police units are training dogs to sniff out mobile phones to help prosecute those accused of posting hurtful messages on social media.”

https://twitter.com/RMXnews/status/1772971664239652957

17
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varmint
varmint
1 year ago
Reply to  Mogwai

The absurd thing is that this alleged “hate incident” might only be hateful to the one individual in a group of fifty people. Yet the law will now deem whatever it is that person finds offensive as fact if that one person says so.

12
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varmint
varmint
1 year ago
Reply to  Mogwai

Yep you likely would get yourself into whole lot of hot water. But have some sympathy for me. I have to live in the Socialist Republic of Scotlandia.

11
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Matt Dalby
Matt Dalby
1 year ago
Reply to  varmint

I also have to live under the barking mad SNP and it’s evil leader, Hamza Useless. Have I just become one of the first people to commit a hate crime?
If not how about “Men pretending to be women shouldn’t be allowed into female spaces as some of them are dangerous perverts who want to abuse women and no one wants to see a chick with a dick flashing it at young girls”.

10
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AethelredTheReadier
AethelredTheReadier
1 year ago

My hope is that the sheer ludicrous nature of this Act comes to light through some of the inevitable court cases that will follow its passing into law. The interpretation of the Act will most likely encompass dissenting speech as well. For instance, can you now say: “I hate this effing useless and corrupt government full of spivs, grifters and shysters, they should all be arrested and jailed for crimes against humanity?” There’s no actual incitement, it’s an opinion so are opinions OK? Does using the term ‘hate’ imply the use of future violence? If I hate peas (I don’t) it’s just a use of the vernacular. Should I expect the Spanish Inquisition?

40
-1
Ron Smith
Ron Smith
1 year ago

OT Dehenna Davison on TALK TV this afternoon…..”Covid was a war effort that brought people together, we had the vaccine rollout etc”…I TXT the show in response.

“Covid was a psyop, psychological warfare on the British public and Hancock, Boris etc should be in a Nuremberg trial for vaccine coercion. She didn’t read my txt out but I already knew that.

42
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Uncle Monty
Uncle Monty
1 year ago

Can’t we all claim to feel unsafe in Scotland because of Yusuf’s stirring up of anti-white hatred?

52
-1
Heretic
Heretic
1 year ago

This is most impressive news— well done to Toby Young and the team for actually setting up an office in Scotland and taking strong measures to gather supporters there for Freedom of Speech, in anticipation of the horrible new law.

I still don’t understand why the Scottish legislators and people allowed it to pass into law in the first place. Who in their right mind would ever vote for such an outrage? So why did they?

Why are so many people willing to take to the streets over a conflict thousands of miles away, but not over something that will directly harm their own lives, even in their own homes? It makes no sense at all.

Last edited 1 year ago by Heretic
47
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varmint
varmint
1 year ago
Reply to  Heretic

This is happening because the Cultural Marxists all over the western world cannot bear people not having the same world view as them. They want to impose their morality on everyone, and fear that their absurd policies on all manner of stuff will be undermined and shown as preposterous if people are free to criticise them ——Tyranny. ——We used to think things like this only happened in places like North Korea.

18
0
varmint
varmint
1 year ago

“Well I woke up this mornin, my freedom dun left me. Well I woke up this mornin my freedom dun left me” ———Yes I woke up this morning and I am not allowed to hate anything or anyone anymore. Looks like I will just have to pity them instead. —-I pity the SNP and I pity the people who vote for this bunch of commies that want to control what we say even in our own house. I pity phony planet savers. I pity gender ideologues. I pity all Liberal Progressive, Cultural Marxists and their rancid world view. ———-One of the main absurdities (of the many) of this new legislation is that “hate” is entirely determined subjectively. 3 people might be offended by what you say but 14 people might not be. Can you imagine if this was applied to proper crime. 3 people think your house was burgled but 14 people don’t ? ——Your house was either burgled or it was not, but with this insidious new hate nonsense crime is in the eye of the beholder. ———Oh but lets have some sympathy for law enforcement. As if they don’t have enough on their plate already, they are now going to be called to investigate every utterance deemed inappropriate or offensive by every silly individual that needs to go get a life.

14
0
Sforzesca
Sforzesca
1 year ago

The next “Old Firm” derby, 7th April should be interesting.
The Polis should, stricly speaking, arrest the whole crowd….
Maybe even before they actually get into the stadium – pre crime?

8
0
varmint
varmint
1 year ago
Reply to  Sforzesca

Thats where the “Blind Eye Clause” in the legislation comes into play. Plod will select the easy target and ignore the difficult ones.

8
0
JJM
JJM
1 year ago

Why are you asking for donations? Shouldn’t this come from the FSU funds?

0
0
David101
David101
1 year ago

It’s hard to know whether or not this is just an elaborate April Fool’s!

2
0
brightlightsweetown
brightlightsweetown
1 year ago

How about the whole of the SNP, and their supporting wasters, blaming Westminster and theTories, for every single issue that the republican SNP/Green coalition cannot resolve. Sturgeon who stated she ‘detested’ Tories, Humza who wants Scotland to be cleared of Tories, etc ad infinitum. That stirs up more hatred here in Scotland amongst their ‘supporters’ for any Unionist or ‘Yoon’ as we’re termed. 🤐

4
0

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