Latest news with #HateCrimeAct
The National
a day ago
- The National
Hate crime figures fall but disability attacks reach record high
HATE crime has decreased almost across the board since a controversial Holyrood law came into force, figures have shown. Statistics from the Scottish Government reveal that despite a fall in nearly all categories, hate crimes recorded against disabled people have surged to record levels. The statistics are the first to include crimes under the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, which came into force on April 1 last year. Overall, there were 6019 hate crimes recorded in 2024-25 – down 1.2% on the year before. But charges aggravated by disability rose by 15% to 1069 – the highest annual number recorded since the legislation creating the aggravation came into force in 2010. Recorded hate crimes against disabled people have risen consistently since the start of the last decade. READ MORE: Scottish council rejects plans for huge 1000-home development with pub and park Race continued to be the most commonly reported hate crime in Scotland, with 3357 such charges being recorded over the last year. The figure, accounting for 55% of hate crimes, represents a decrease of 2.2% compared to the year before. Hate crimes over sexual orientation, the second most common type, decreased by 8.7% to 1699 – the lowest number of charges since 2020. Religious hate crime charges also decreased by 5.1% to 505, the lowest annual number since 2004. Hate crime charges against transgender people were down by one to 86. There were 88 charges related to age and 13 related to variations in sex characteristics, both of which are new aggravators included in the Hate Crime Act. There were 27 charges of stirring up hatred relating to race and another 65 for stirring up hatred against 'other protected characteristics' – both new charges under the Act. The Lord Advocate, Scotland's top law officer, urged the public to be vigilant over hate crime. (Image: PA) Dorothy Bain KC (above) said hate-fuelled crime continued to be a blight on Scotland's communities and urged the public to report any incidents to the police. She said: 'There is no room for complacency in our response to – and recognition of – hate crime. 'Last year, prosecutors at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) received reports with more than 6,000 charges fuelled by hatred and targeted at people who are simply being themselves. 'Today's publication highlights the shameful prejudice which persists and – in relation to those affected by disability – has been exposed in increasing numbers. READ MORE: Scottish fishing body accuses David Attenborough of 'propaganda' over new film 'Those of us who wish to live in a tolerant society find this abhorrent. Hate crime has hugely damaging effects on victims, their families and the wider community. 'COPFS will play its part in helping to make Scotland a safer place by prosecuting robustly those who victimise others through their own ignorance or bigotry.' Scottish Conservative Tory MSP Liam Kerr said: 'These figures reveal Humza Yousaf's Hate Crime Act for what it is – a completely unnecessary law that's a drain on police resources. 'We repeatedly warned that this bad law was unworkable and would lead to the police having to deal with a slew of spurious complaints. 'The relatively small number of charges being brought appears to bear this out. 'Instead of asking the police to continually enforce flawed legislation, SNP ministers should prioritise funding our police force so they can properly keep our communities safe.'
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- The Herald Scotland
Disability attacks increase despite hate crime being down overall
The statistics are the first to includes crimes under the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, which came into force on April 1 last year. Overall, there were 6,019 hate crimes recorded in 2024-25 – down 1.2% on the year before. But charges aggravated by disability rose by 15% to 1,069 – the highest annual number recorded since the legislation creating the aggravation came into force in 2010. Recorded hate crime against disabled people has risen consistently since the start of the last decade. Race continued to be the most commonly reported hate crime in Scotland, with 3,357 such charges being recorded over the last year. The figure, accounting for 55% of hate crimes, represents a decrease of 2.2% compared to the year before. Read More Hate crimes over sexual orientation, the second most common type, decreased by 8.7% to 1,699 – the lowest number of charges since 2020. Religious hate crime charges also decreased by 5.1% to 505, the lowest annual number since 2004. Hate crime charges against transgender people were down by one to 86. There were 88 charges related to age and 13 related to variations in sex characteristics, both of which are new aggravators included in the Hate Crime Act. There were 27 charges of stirring up hatred relating to race and another 65 for stirring up hatred against 'other protected characteristics' – both new charges under the Act. The Lord Advocate, Scotland's top law officer, urged the public to be vigilant over hate crime. Dorothy Bain KC said hate-fuelled crime continued to be a blight on Scotland's communities and urged the public to report any incidents to the police. She said: 'There is no room for complacency in our response to – and recognition of – hate crime. 'Last year, prosecutors at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) received reports with more than 6,000 charges fuelled by hatred and targeted at people who are simply being themselves. 'Today's publication highlights the shameful prejudice which persists and – in relation to those affected by disability – has been exposed in increasing numbers. 'Those of us who wish to live in a tolerant society find this abhorrent. Hate crime has hugely damaging effects on victims, their families and the wider community. 'COPFS will play its part in helping to make Scotland a safer place by prosecuting robustly those who victimise others through their own ignorance or bigotry.' Scottish Conservative Tory MSP Liam Kerr said: 'These figures reveal Humza Yousaf's Hate Crime Act for what it is – a completely unnecessary law that's a drain on police resources. 'We repeatedly warned that this bad law was unworkable and would lead to the police having to deal with a slew of spurious complaints. 'The relatively small number of charges being brought appears to bear this out. 'Instead of asking the police to continually enforce flawed legislation, SNP ministers should prioritise funding our police force so they can properly keep our communities safe.'
The National
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- The National
I'm an activist against Elon Musk. Here's why I'm targeting Tesla
In a reported Tesla first quarter-earnings conference call recently Musk told company bosses that he would be allocating more of his time to Tesla and said he would be 'significantly' cutting back on his work for Donald Trump's government. Musk's leadership of the newly created advisory body – theDepartment for Government Efficiency, or Doge – has been widely criticised as it had overseen widespread cuts to the US government. This, alongside his far-right political views, has sparked protests at Tesla dealerships around the world, and pledges from many to boycott the firm. READ MORE: 'I felt dirty': Alex Cole-Hamilton on why he sold his Tesla Musk may still be the world's wealthiest man, but he no longer represents invincibility to shareholders. His salute in January at the inauguration was a firing-gun for activists who had already been watching Musk 'wreaking havoc on with normal people's jobs, across the US and across government,' Theodora Sutcliffe, a Tesla Takedown organiser, told The National. Protests organised by the grassroots campaign have only grown with action seen across the US, Europe, the UK and Scotland. 'The thing about Musk is whether I talk to people in Australia, or Germany or Spain, or the Netherlands or whatever, they've all got their own spin on something horrific that Elon Musk is doing in that country. 'So, in, England, obviously, specifically, it's Tommy Robinson, in Germany, it's the AFD, etc.' 'Protesting Musk is an opportunity to have an impact globally, it's not exclusively an American thing, which is why it's taking off outside the US as well.' Musk has weighed in on Scotland's Hate Crime Act; criticised Keir Starmer's Government over the UK's handling of child grooming scandals; supported and amplified messages from Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party; and has publicly supported Romanian far-right outsider Calin Georgescu following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow has denied. READ MORE: How Tesla sales fell in Europe after Elon Musk's salute Tariffs aren't necessarily helping Tesla either, with market uncertainty also hitting the company. 'Tariffs are still tough on a company when margins are still low,' said Musk in the call. And this is what the Tesla Takedown campaign wants to target. The logic behind a consumer boycott 'You can object to Trump as much as you, but the fact remains he's a democratically- elected president, whereas Musk is not only unelected, but he's hugely vulnerable because of his share price.' The price of a company's high earnings ratio expresses how much you would pay for a share, versus how many years it would take you to get that back through the revenue that is generating. Google's is around 18. Tesla's is 151. Sutcliffe said: 'So even though the company's stock has fallen by 31%, it's really overvalued. That's why when we keep saying it's got a long way to fall, that's what we mean. 'The only reason it's that high is that people believe that maybe they'll be humanoid robots one day which seems unlikely.' Sutcliffe described a picket the group did at a pop-up store in Oxford Street in London, which had a robot in the window, adding: 'I kept waiting for the robot to do something, move or to come at us, and we concluded at the end of the picket it must just be the most expensive mannequin ever.' The group believes the boycott can be effective because of the company's overvalued earnings ratio, so it's achievable to make the stock price collapse to 'something more realistic', like Google has. 'At that point, because the way Musk looks after his money to avoid paying tax, obviously you can't just keep £300 million in the current account at the bank – that's not how it works – what he does is he takes his money out in the form of loans secured on Tesla's share price. 'And if Tesla's share price drops below a certain level, the people who've given him the loans go: 'Oh, we're going to need more collateral'. 'At which point he has a problem. He either has to sell Tesla shares, which then drives panic and drives things down even further, or default on it.' The group currently has 11 organisers across the UK, with Bristol, London and Nottingham most prominent. Protest have taken place in Scotland, albeit with small groups which Sutcliffe put down to the location of the Tesla dealerships. 'These Tesla dealerships tend to be very, very out of the way. There's always a limit to the numbers who are going to be physically protesting." Sutcliffe also highlighted Musk's other businesses, Starlink and Twitter/X, arguing people should be boycotting those as well. READ MORE: Concerns over 'hidden right-wing agenda' of group meeting in Fife The Scottish Government continues to use Tesla and Starlink despite Musk's views. "It needs to start being questioned from a security perspective as well as the ethical one because he's an agent of a power. "Do you really want your broadband to rely on Elon Musk?," she asked. 'But there's other things we're doing, such as leaving leaflets under Tesla screen wipers, asking them to sell their cars.' More Tesla owners are choosing to sell their car, with an increase in the amount of second cars being sold across Scotland. However, not everyone has that option, Sutcliffe stressed. 'We get Tesla drivers coming up to us who say, 'I'm really supportive of what you're doing, but my car is leased, and I literally cannot afford to give it back'. 'They're sort of stuck in this situation. One woman told us she would have to pay them money to give the car back now because of the depreciation of the leasing it." Sutcliffe also points to the groups' campaign calling on Octopus Energy to scrap its leasing deal with Tesla. 'They're such a progressive company, all about green energy. It's very positive, and LGBT+ supportive, and its supportive of the Gaydio Awards in Manchester, and yet they've got a leasing deal where people can buy Tesla's. 'I'd be really, really interested to hear what they say about that because it's something that a company like that should not be doing, not in 2025." Octopus Energy did not respond to a request for comment.
Scotsman
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
SNP accused of 'humiliating U-turn' as delayed misogyny legislation scrapped
Scottish ministers have U-turned on a promise to legislate against misogyny and will revert to including protections in the controversial Hate Crime Act. Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... SNP ministers have been accused of a 'humiliating U-turn' after dropping their misogyny legislation plans. The Scottish Government will instead 'add the protected characteristic of sex' to the controversial Hate Crime Act despite initially refusing to do so, as it was confirmed the misogyny law plans were being dropped. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The move comes after the Government came under fire for refusing to include it in the original hate crime proposals, with ministers insisting it should form its own legislation. In documents that went before the misconduct panel, Mr Beggs said a 'theme of misogyny and abuse of women' led to the criminal investigations by Northants Police and Lincolnshire Police; and was, in turn, compounded by Mr Boulter's 'failures' to disclose those investigations in vetting forms. | 3rd party The Government has previously delayed the proposed legislation against misogynistic behaviour, but has now admitted it will not have enough time before next year's Holyrood election to bring forward the plans. A review by Baroness Helena Kennedy recommended a separate law should be drawn up to tackle "the spectrum of misogynistic conduct", rather than including it in the hate crime law. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Speaking in April last year, then-first minister Humza Yousaf said the specific misogyny legislation would be pushed forward with "urgency and pace". The proposed Bill would have handed protection to women and girls at risk of gender-based violence , with new laws against misogynistic harassment and behaviour, stirring up hatred against women and girls and protections from abusive communications. READ MORE: Half of all female teachers face violence and abuse in schools amid concerns over misogynistic influencers First Minister John Swinney said: 'I want to make sure that we take the measures to tackle misogyny and that we protect women and girls in our society. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We have to recognise that the issues that arise out of the Supreme Court judgment will take us longer to consider in developing a misogyny Bill. 'So what we can do is take action at an earlier stage, amend the hate crime legislation to ensure the issue of misogyny can be addressed.' First Minister John Swinney during a press conference in Bute House, Edinburgh SNP Parliamentary Business Minister Hepburn said his Government would introduce regulations at Holyrood before the summer recess 'to ensure there are protections for women and girls in law' by adding 'the protected characteristic of sex to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act'. He said: 'We recognise the gendered nature of the harm caused to women and girls and will also take forward further work and engagement on the harms caused by misogyny, including what more could be done to tackle the underlying attitudes that lead to misogyny and gender based abuse.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: 'This looks like a humiliating U-turn from John Swinney and co. The Misogyny Bill is just the latest in a litany of paused, ditched or botched [Nicola] Sturgeon-era policies. 'It's little surprise it has been scrapped. Who would trust SNP ministers to legislate to criminalise misogyny when they can't even say what a woman is? Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton | Jane Barlow/PA Wire 'Misogyny remains a serious problem and it's crucial that women and girls are protected from all forms of threatening and abusive behaviour in a way that safeguards their rights.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scottish Labour justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill said: 'This is a shameful broken promise to Scottish women at a time when misogynistic hatred is on the rise. The SNP has spent years kicking this issue into the long grass by insisting this approach wouldn't work, only to perform a screeching U-turn. 'If the SNP had listened to Scottish Labour and other women MSPs who argued for this in 2021, we would already have this protection in place.' The Scottish Government has also come under fire for confirming no ban on conversion practices will be tabled at Holyrood until after next year's election. The First Minister faced initial criticism after legislation to outlaw conversion therapy was absent from his first Programme for Government in September. But Mr Swinney insisted the law would be brought forward in lockstep with Westminster. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad SNP equalities minister Kaukab Stewart said while the Scottish Government would 'continue to work' with Westminster on a UK-wide approach, Holyrood ministers would 'get on with the job of ending these harmful practices' if there was no progress. Kaukab Stewart | PA She promised if the UK Labour government failed to legislate on the issue, an SNP Scottish Government would 'publish its own Bill in year one of the next parliamentary session'. The Scottish Government previously committed to banning conversion therapy, which aims to change or suppress a person's sexual orientation or identity, as part of the power-sharing deal between the SNP and the Scottish Greens. The Bute House Agreement ended before legislation was brought forward, with the Scottish Government saying earlier this year that it would prepare its own Bill 'should a UK-wide approach not be achievable'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ms Stewart said: 'Scotland remains absolute in our commitment to equality, the rights of the LGBTQI+ community, and ending conversion practices. 'We will continue to work with the UK government on legislation extending to Scotland, that applies across all settings and protects all ages, is trans-inclusive and does not include any exemption for consent. 'However, if we do not make progress through a collaborative approach, the Scottish Government will get on with the job of ending these harmful practices in Scotland and intends to publish its own Bill in year one of the next parliamentary session.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In light of the Supreme Court ruling that the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 'refer to a biological woman and biological sex', Ms Stewart said recent weeks had been 'challenging for our LGBTQI+ communities'. But she told them: 'We want you to know we stand with you and we will work tirelessly to ban conversion practices once and for all.' Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman hit out at SNP ministers for the "shameful backwards step', claiming the move 'sends a worrying message about the Government's commitment to equalities'. Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman yesterday survived a crunch vote to keep her top job on Holyrood's Equalities Committee after controversial comments about the Supreme Court (Picture: Jeff) She said: 'A lot of people have waited far too long for the protections in these bills, and they will be deeply disappointed that they will not be happening as promised. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Violence against women and girls is a national emergency. The Misogyny Bill was a vital step in ensuring that reports of harassment and assault are taken seriously.
Scottish Sun
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
SNP ministers ditch plans for long-promised anti-women hatred law in major U-turn
Ministers claimed a misogyny bill would be too complex to finish within the remaining year of this parly session NATS chiefs today ditched their long-promised anti-women hatred law and signalled they would introduce an offence covering prejudice against both sexes instead. In a major u-turn after years of committing to a misogyny bill, SNP ministers confirmed it would be dropped in favour of expanding the controversial Hate Crime Act. Advertisement 2 MSPs pinned part of the blame on the Supreme Court judgement that sex in equality law is defined by biological sex Credit: EPA The plans would see the 'protected characteristic' of sex - meaning women or men - added to legislation which has been fully in place for just over a year. It paves the way for crimes of stirring up hatred against men and women to be prosecuted, as well as added a sex-based 'aggravation' - a bolt-on for other offences, triggering stiffer punishment. Freedom of speech protections about misogyny will also be added to the bill, protecting 'discussion or criticism'. Ministers claimed a misogyny bill - recommended in a major review for the government by Baroness Helena Kennedy - would be too complex to finish within the remaining year of this parly session. Advertisement A written statement to MSPs, released after the end of the parliamentary week, also pinned part of the blame on last month's landmark Supreme Court judgement that sex in equality law is defined by biological sex. It said: 'This is a complex area of policy and law, and it would be necessary that any Bill which brought misogyny into criminal law contained clear and unambiguous provisions in regard to the circumstances in which they apply. 'This would include the implications of the recent Supreme Court Judgment.' Last year the Scottish Government had insisted ministers would introduce a misogyny bill which would be 'the first of its kind in the world' to 'create a new focus on protecting women and girls to address criminal behaviour motivated purely by misogyny." Advertisement The u-turn flies in the face of recommendations by Labour peer and human rights lawyer Baroness Kennedy KC's review of misogyny law. Her report in 2022 concluded adding sex to the Hate Crime Act would not work as 'misogyny is so deeply rooted in our patriarchal ecosystem that it requires a more fundamental set of responses." Maggie Chapman saved from AXE by SNP after accusing Supreme Court of 'bigotry & hatred' It added a hate law was needed "exclusively for women" because "this malign conduct does not happen to men in any comparable way'. At the time, Nicola Sturgeon said the report from Baroness Kennedy was 'ground-breaking', 'bold', and 'far-reaching'. Advertisement The lawyer and peer said earlier this month that she was worried ministers would ditch her recommendations 'given the divisive nature of public debate around 'woke' issues. She added: 'Protecting women and girls from abusive behaviour and threats of rape and violence, online and offline, is very important now.' SNP ministers' latest position - adding a protected characteristic of 'sex' to current hate laws - is similar to the idea suggested by judge Lord Bracadale in his 2018 hare crime review for the Scottish Government. It floated an 'aggravation' in law based on 'gender hostility', rather than a specific protection for women. 2 Nats chiefs today ditched their long-promised anti-women hatred law Credit: Alamy
