Freedom lost

We all know the saying “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words, they cannot hurt me.”

Now that Humza Yousaf has introduced his anti-free speech bill into Scots law, that basic freedom has gone. We are no longer a free people, as long as we have this frightening limit on what we can say. It is now in the hands of the police to decide whether an offence has been committed or not, as was made abundantly clear in a car-crash interview with the SNP minister responsible on the Today programme on Radio 4.

The fact of the matter is that it will come down to the interpretation of what someone says and, naturally, that is entirely subjective. Consider the case in England in which an African mother took offence when her child (and white children) were called “little monkeys”. A perfectly normal expression to native Britons, but totally misunderstood by someone not brought up in our culture.

Will Sassenachs be able to report Scots for racial slurs? How about Teuchters, or Weegies? A Weegie bobby might take exception to use of that term by an Edinburgh man, but is it a crime? It is up to Police Scotland to decide if an offence has taken place. It may even be at your home. There is no escape. “Reporting centres” are all over Scotland for people to tell on us. Very Stasi.

It is no surprise that when this mess was put to her, Siobhian Brown MSP said, “It is all getting a little bit out of hand”. Perhaps we should reframe the old saying: “Sticks and stones may break my bones but a wrong word could spell seven years in jail.”

Peter Hopkins

Edinburgh