Hansard

I begin by thanking everyone who supported the development of my member’s bill, particularly the staff of the non-Government bills unit for their exceptional assistance throughout the process and, of course, my wonderful office team. I also recognise and pay tribute to the members of the friends of Dennistoun war memorial group. Without their tenacity and commitment to changing the law, I would not be here speaking to the bill today.

In August 2018, the newly installed war memorial in Alexandra park was petrol bombed just days after its installation and weeks before its unveiling. I understood the anger and distress that that caused because, in 2019, a year later, the Duchess park war memorial in Motherwell was vandalised. I was the local councillor at the time, and I was appalled to see the words “scum of the earth” written beside the names of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. The Spanish civil war memorial, which is situated in the same park, was defaced two years later, in 2021, rightly prompting condemnation across the community.

Sadly, those incidents are not isolated. Desecration of war memorials often occurs during periods of heightened political tension, and the harm that is caused extends far beyond the physical damage. I have raised the issue in the Parliament previously, but the work that my office undertook in preparation for the bill found that, since 1966, there have been roughly 66 attacks on war memorials in Scotland. Although that number appears relatively low, almost 70 per cent have occurred since 2014.

These acts strike at community identity and the dignity of those who have served. That sense of injustice, particularly among the armed forces and veterans community, led me to introduce the bill. In its current form, the bill seeks to create a specific statutory offence of destroying, damaging or desecrating a war memorial, with enhanced penalties, on the basis that current law does not adequately reflect the seriousness or impact of those crimes. That is because war memorials are not given different consideration and desecrating them is usually considered to be within the same bracket of offence as desecrating a lamp post or a post box. I just do not believe that that is right, given the historical, cultural and social significance of war memorials. As a member’s bill, it is deliberately narrow in scope and it is intended to provide clarity and deterrence without overcomplication.

I am grateful to the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee for its scrutiny. Unusually, the committee did not reach a conclusion on whether to recommend the general principles of the bill. Evidence from the Crown Office and the Scottish Government raised significant concerns, including that existing law already shows that such offences, if they were to be prosecuted, would not increase sentencing powers in practice and that a new offence is unlikely to improve detention, reporting or deterrence. However, from my reading of the stage 1 report, the committee sympathised with what I was trying to achieve. Incidentally, it is interesting to note that, when I gave evidence to members of the CEEAC Committee, every member represented a constituency or region that had at least one incident of a war memorial being desecrated. That shows that it is not an isolated event in one particular area of the country.

The committee also highlighted that courts already take account of community impact and trauma, that proving intent can be challenging and that a maximum sentence of 10 years could, in fact, be lower than what is available under current sentencing powers. In coming to my decision on how to proceed with the bill, I have reflected carefully on that evidence and on my responsibility to bring forward good law. I have also engaged constructively with the cabinet secretary, whom I thank for his approach, to explore potential and alternative ways forward, including the potential creation of a statutory aggravator, which was also suggested by the CEEAC Committee.