Controversial anti-sectarian laws face the axe after MSPS back repeal

square up on the touchline after the match, with widespread trouble among supporters inside and outside the ground.

The act was the first piece of legislation to have been passed without any cross-party support in the history of the Scottish Parliament when the then-majority SNP government pushed it through seven years ago.

But it has come under fire in recent years amid claims it unfairly targets football fans and has even “criminalised” a generation of football supporters. This has resulted in the current “Repeal Bill” being lodged at Holyrood by Labour MSP James Kelly.

Yesterday’s report finds existing laws could already be used to crack down on the sectarian behaviour targeted by the act.

“Repeal would not have a significant impact on the prosecution of the type of offences which the 2012 act sought to capture,” it said.

Many of these offences could also be covered by sentencing “aggravations”, the committee was told in evidence.

However, the repeal of Section 6 of the act, which involves “communicating material” which may cause fear and alarm or which stokes up religious hatred, would leave a gap, the report finds.

The Scottish Government has called for the Repeal Bill to be delayed while a review of hate crime in Scotland, which has examined the impact of the act, is completed by Lord Bracadale. But the committee says such legal reviews can take years to implement and says it would “not be appropriate” to delay the bill to await this.

Community safety minister Annabelle Ewing said a “range of organisations” set out concerns during the committee inquiry that the police would be hampered from tackling the issue.

“We share those manifest concerns that repeal will send entirely the wrong message, leaving vulnerable communities feeling exposed to abuse and prejudice and putting Scotland behind the rest of the UK,” she said.