Freedom of speech remains… for now

Widespread backlash may have reduced impact of Scottish Government’s hate crime law but we can’t relax just yet

The first week of Scotland under the Hate Crime Act has passed and, it seems, nothing much has radically changed. The hardpressed officers of Police Scotland were deluged with extra work – forced to sift through thousands of mostly spurious complaints – but, so far at least, free speech remains intact and JK Rowling rightly remains at large despite unpleasant howls of outrage from those with a Trumpian “lock them up” attitude to people they disagree with.

However, it would be a mistake to think the furore over the new law’s effect on freedom of speech was entirely unjustified. The real test will happen when the first cases are brought. Only then will we see exactly what this at-times confused piece of legislation – described by more than one legal commentator as another example of the “pure mince” in the now-repealed Offensive Behaviour at Football Act – actually does.

Furthermore, the controversy may well have had an effect on the way the law is being enforced. Police Scotland’s high-profile publicity campaign and guidance about the law strongly suggested they were planning an over-zealous approach. Its website still includes the disgraceful and fundamentally illiberal claim that young men aged 18-30, particularly from “socially excluded communities”, are “most likely to commit hate crime”. Tarring innocent citizens in this way is an open expression of appalling bigotry by our national police force, one prompted by the Act.

The public backlash may have persuaded officers not to get quite so carried away and set a higher bar to investigate a case or record a “non-crime hate incident” than they otherwise might. The simple impracticalities of investigating thousands of cases are also likely to be having an effect, although such realities haven’t stopped some more excitable members of the media from suggesting that the 48,000 fans at Ibrox for Sunday’s Rangers-celtic game could all be arrested.

However, relying on the sensible implementation of a law vague enough to become Draconian in the future is hardly a comfortable situation. The sky may not have fallen in, but we should not forget to keep looking up.