Meeting of the Parliament 07 June 2018
I am very pleased to open for the Scottish Conservatives in this debate without a motion on Lord Bracadale’s independent review of hate crime legislation.
Lord Bracadale’s remit was to
“help ensure we have the right legislative protection in place to tackle hate crime wherever and whenever it happens”.
and it was right to do so. Last year, there were nearly 6,000 hate crime charges in Scotland, roughly two thirds of which were racial—and those are just the ones that were reported. It is widely accepted that the real level of hate crime is far higher than is reported in official statistics, because a significant number go unreported to authorities. Intolerance, bigotry, racism and prejudice of any kind should not be accepted anywhere in a civilised society, so we must do all that we can to challenge them.
Lord Bracadale has produced a considerable document that will form the basis for wide-ranging and useful discussion and debate long after today’s debate. He makes 22 recommendations, many of which the Scottish Conservatives are pleased to endorse, as will be detailed by my colleagues throughout the afternoon.
I will start from the back of the report, recommendation 20 of which says simply:
“All Scottish hate crime legislation should be consolidated.”
I agree absolutely. As the minister correctly identified, many crimes currently fall into the category of hate crime and there are some overlaps—but there are also some gaps. I acknowledge concerns about the dangers of an unwieldy or oversimplified approach being taken or of focus being lost. However, I accept the argument that is made by Lord Bracadale in paragraph 9.9 of his report that that is unlikely to be the case. From experience, I look for support for that position to other consolidating acts such as the Employment Rights Act 1996 or the Equality Act 2010. [Interruption.]