The Controversial Hate Crime Bill being championed by the Scottish Government’s Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf will be debated in the Scottish Parliament today after running out of time on Wednesday night.
Justice secretary Humza Yousaf has asked MSPs to back the bill but many have raised serious concerns over the Bill warning if imposed it could lead to individuals facing criminal charges for simply expressing controversial opinions.
Urging MSPs to back the bill Yousaf said that the level of parliamentary scrutiny has “shown Holyrood at its best – collaborative, diverse and determined Parliament which we should all be proud of”.
He added: “We must remember why this Bill is so necessary, every day in Scotland there are an estimated 18 hate crimes committed.
“The effects of these crimes are felt deeply by those targeted and this prejudice has a pernicious effect on the health of a society and its communities.
“Not only that, the toll hate crime takes on its victims and their families, is immense.”
However not everyone in the Scottish Parliament sees the bill like this, Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr: “The SNP’s Hate Crime Bill was a shambles from the start. For too long, they were in denial about its glaring flaws even in the face of widespread opposition.
“Under pressure from the Scottish Conservatives, they u-turned on some of the worst parts. We made Humza Yousaf back down – but he didn’t go far enough.
“We remain opposed to the SNP’s Hate Crime Bill because it is a serious threat to freedom of speech. In particular, it risks what people can say in their own home, at their own dinner table. That is an unacceptable and outrageous overstepping of the mark.
“We agree that hate crime should be tackled forcefully but threatening our fundamental right to free speech is too heavy a price to pay.
“The SNP got this bill so badly wrong from the outset that, despite being forced to overhaul it several times, it remains seriously flawed on a fundamental point of principle.”
Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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