Police in Scotland 'making it up as they go along' over new hate crime law: MSP ... trends now

Police in Scotland have been accused of 'making it up as they go' and favouring the famous after they refused to go after JK Rowling or Humza Yousaf - but did take action on Murdo Fraser's post calling 'non-binary as valid as identifying as a cat'. 

As anger over Scotland's controversial hate crime law continues to grow, Conservative MSP Mr Fraser has demanded 'urgent clarity' from Police Scotland chief constable Jo Farrell.

Last November, Mr Fraser was found to have committed a non-crime hate incident (NCHI) after he tweeted: 'Choosing to identify as 'non-binary' is as valid as choosing to identify as a cat. I'm not sure Governments should be spending time on action plans for either.'

An NCHI is when a complaint does not meet the threshold for a crime but is perceived to be 'motivated (wholly or partly) by malice and ill-will towards a social group', according to Police Scotland guidance.

At the time, he said he was 'found guilty' of 'hate' by Police Scotland. But he has now questioned the consistency of the laws after comments made by Harry Potter author JK Rowling and Scotland First Minister Mr Yousaf were not logged.

The force confirmed this week that a series of tweets made by JK Rowling - in which she referred to 10 high-profile trans women including convicted sex offenders as 'men, every last one of them' - did not meet the threshold for crime or a NCHI.

Police Scotland also said Mr Yousaf's speech about 'often being the only non-white person in the room' - which he gave while he was justice secretary - would not be logged as an NCHI. 

In response to seeing her comments would not be recorded as an NCHI, JK Rowling tweeted: 'Again, I trust everyone will be treated the same way if they express themselves similarly. Nobody should have a 'Hate Incident' logged against them for accurately describing, or asserting the importance and reality, of biological sex. We must all be equal under the law.' 

Scotland's new hate crime law criminalises 'stirring up hatred' against a number of protected characteristics including age, transgender identity, disability and people who are intersex - but has sparked protests amid fears it will restrict free speech.

The Scottish Government has previously said deliberately misgendering someone - referring to someone by pronouns other than those that they prefer - would not be criminalised under the new legislation. 

Rowling - who had dared police to arrest her - had posted a series of tweets in which she spoke out against 10 trans women, including double rapist Isla Bryson, who was jailed for eight years last year for raping two women. 

The attacks were carried out when Bryson, born Adam Graham, was a man.

Mr Fraser, who is considering legal action against Police Scotland, has written a letter to the chief constable about his concerns.

He said: 'I am writing to you concerning Police Scotland yesterday announcing, that contrary to its stated policy, NCHIs would not be recorded in relation to comments made by First Minister Humza Yousaf and the author JK Rowling. I have a number of serious questions which arise from this and for which I would be grateful to have your urgent response.'

He also claimed the force's decision was politically biased.

Reacting to Mr Yousaf and Ms Rowling's remarks not being recorded as NCHIs, he said: 'This decision means Police Scotland have not only breached their own policy on recording non-crime hate incidents, but now appear to be making it up as they go along.

'They have taken a different approach to comments made by the SNP first minister to those made by an opposition politician. It is hard not to conclude that Police Scotland has been captured by the SNP policy agenda and that this is a decision that reeks of political bias.

'I hope the chief constable will contact me urgently with an immediate apology for recording a hate incident against me and confirming all records in relation to it have been destroyed. They should also ditch their existing unlawful policy — as has been done in England and Wales — which I believe is a clear breach of people's human rights.'

It comes as the Scottish Tories estimate that 1.4million complaints could be made under the controversial new law in the first year.

Calum Steele, the former general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said that around 3,800 cases were logged within the first 24 hours of the act coming into force Monday.

The Scottish Tories have claimed that if the rate continues for the next 12 months, a total of 1.387 million crimes will be reported during 2024/2025 financial year.

Mr Yousaf is believed to be the subject of the most complaints under the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, which creates a new crime of 'stirring up hatred' towards certain protected characteristics. 

These are a person's age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or being intersex.

An insider told the Sun: 'A lot of those complaints were about Humza Yousaf, on the same complaint about his parliamentary rant. JK Rowling has had some, but not as many as Humza Yousaf.'

A 2020 video of Mr Yousaf speaking in the Scottish Parliament in the wave of the Black Lives Matter protests has been circulated for years, out of context, by far-right Twitter accounts seeking to portray the First Minister as racist.

In the clip, the SNP leader tells of how people are often surprised he is the only 'non-white person in the room' at most of the meetings he attends.

He then adds: 'The Lord President is white, the Lord Justice Clerk is white, every High Court judge is white, the Lord Advocate is white, the Solicitor General is white, the chief constable is white, every deputy chief constable is white, every assistant chief constable is white, the head of the Law Society is white, the head of the Faculty of Advocates is white and every prison governor is white.'

Mr Yousaf was seeking to highlight how few people of colour are in positions of power in Scotland's parliament and government - but far-right activists stripped the clip of context and sought to suggest he was calling for a reduction in the number of white people in Scotland.

News agency Reuters issued a fact-checking note on the video after Elon Musk, owner of troubled social network X, formerly Twitter, branded Mr Yousaf a 'blatant racist' in response to a post of the video from a well-known right-wing account.

Police Scotland said complaints were received at the time of the debate but were not deemed to have met the threshold of a crime. They also confirmed comments from before midnight on April 1, 2024, would be looked at under older legislation.

The First Minister's remarks will also not be logged as an NCHI.

A Police Scotland spokesperson also said: 'We have received a number of complaints in relation to a speech in the Scottish Parliament on June 10, 2020.

'Earlier complaints regarding this matter were assessed at the time and it was established no crime was committed and no further action was required.'

NCHIs have been around for many years and are not part of the new Hate Crime and Public Order Act - but critics fear the new legislation could lead to an increase in hate incidents being logged against innocent people.

Joanna Cherry, the SNP MP, said: 'It seems Police Scotland are revising their policy on recording non-crime hate incidents on the hoof

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