JK abuse may be the final chapter

THE appalling abuse levelled at JK Rowling following her £1million donation to the Better Together campaign to keep Scotland in the UK could just be the turning point of this independence referendum campaign.

Certainly a YouGov poll this week seemed to think so, revealing that an astonishing 12 per cent of undecideds would now be voting ‘No’ after seeing the outrageous slurs – made predominantly on Twitter – to which the author has been subjected.

While those within the Holyrood referendum bubble tend to think that Twitter is the centre of the known universe, it is worth remembering that there are only 75,000 Twitter users in Scotland.

For most of the population, the social media network is a bamboozling annoyance filled with cat pictures and smug politicians.

The revelation, then, that it can be used to level some of the worst abuse imaginable at one of the world’s favourite authors because she chooses to donate to a political campaign and voice an opinion over the break-up of Britain has been greeted with utter horror by many right-thinking Scots.

If there is something positive to be taken from the situation, it is that the rock has been well and truly lifted on the vile creatures who think it is OK to tweet a woman to tell her she is a ‘b****’, a ‘wh***’ and a ‘traitor’ because of her political opinion.

Their exposure has – thankfully – only benefitted the Better Together cause.