Pam Gosal MSP
‘I WILL DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO OVERTURN THE HATE CRIME ACT’
THE SNP’s new Hate Crime Act will come into force this month, and many of my constituents are concerned about the impact it could have on their right to free speech.
Although it remains to be seen how this new law will be enforced, there are several reasons that people should be worried. The SNP government has overstepped the mark and put fundamental rights at risk.
This new law could have a dangerous and chilling effect on free speech in Scotland, even with people’s own homes.
First Minister Humza Yousaf, who originally passed the act when he was the justice secretary, has dismissed legitimate concerns about the serious flaws and vague definitions in the Act.
But the gaping holes in this law are clear for anyone to see. The potential for abuse on ordinary people is limitless.
Social media mobs could be whipped up by mere accusations of hatred and police could be flooded with reports.
Even if the reports themselves do not result in a criminal charge, they could be logged as a non-crime hate incident, which could be marked on that person’s record without their knowledge.
A mere accusation could follow someone around for many years and impact their lives. Normal people who have done nothing wrong could easily find themselves criminalised as a direct consequence of the Act.
But there will also be a hidden, insidious impact of this new law. It could lead to people heavily selfpolicing their speech and feeling unable to voice their own opinions. That would be a sad day for our society.
This new law could also create mountains of extra work for frontline officers at a time when they are already stretched to breaking point.
They will be forced to make difficult calls about the intent of what people say and what constitutes reasonable opinions, with very little substance in the Act to help them understand what is or isn’t a criminal offence.
Unfortunately, it seems that overstretched police officers will need to pick up the pieces left by the Hate Crime Act’s numerous grey areas, which will only distract the police from combating serious crimes.
As a Sikh woman of Indian heritage, I have myself experienced racist abuse and I completely agree with the desire to stamp out discrimination in Scotland. However, I feel that the correct way to approach this is to build bridges between our communities and to encourage integration and understanding between Scotland’s diverse groups, not sow the seeds for further mistrust and division.
Freedom of speech is a fundamental principle that our country is built upon. There are better solutions to tackling discrimination than putting at risk such an important right.
Unfortunately, the Scottish Conservatives were the only party to vote against this disastrous law when it was going through the Scottish Parliament in 2021 with the SNP, Labour and Lib Dems all voting in favour of it.
I will do everything in my power as MSP for West Scotland to overturn the Hate Crime Act and restore free speech in Scotland.