British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “We believe in freedom of speech in this country” (file photo)
London:
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday publicly backed “Harry Potter” author JK Rowling against new hate crime laws imposed by Scotland’s devolved governments, which she said restricted free speech.
The British Indian leader issued a statement on the new Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill which came into force on Monday and led to JK Rowling issuing a sharp rebuke on social media, warning of the “dangers of eradicating women and girls” “. -Sexual Space”.
The Act creates a new offense of “inciting hatred” in relation to protected characteristics.
“People should not be criminalized for stating simple biological facts. We believe in free speech in this country and the Conservatives will always protect it,” Rishi Sunak said in a statement.
In a series of social media posts on Monday, JK Rowling – an outspoken defender of women-only spaces while balancing against transgender rights – referred to several transgender women as male, including Convicted prisoners, trans activists and other public figures. The award-winning Scottish author, who lives in Edinburgh, then invited police to arrest her if they believed she had broken the new law.
JK wrote: “I am currently out of the country, but if what I write here constitutes a crime under the terms of the new Act, I look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment.” Rowling at X ( formerly known as Twitter).
JK Rowling, 58, said Scottish MPs who voted for new hate crime laws “valued the feelings of men who express ideas of womanhood, whether those feelings are misogynistic or opportunistic, rather than the rights and freedoms” of real women and girls “.
The bill was passed in Holyrood, the Scottish Parliament, in 2021 by Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf, who is of Pakistani origin and serves as justice minister in the Scottish National Party (SNP)-led government. After the new law is implemented. However, he insisted it was a reminder of why such a law is needed to ensure “zero tolerance for hate”.
Police Scotland are investigating the graffiti and said “investigations are ongoing”.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh to protest against new hate crime laws restricting free speech. They waved placards that read: “Truth is not hate speech” and “Protect free speech.”
The new laws follow an independent review of hate crime legislation, which concluded that new specific offenses related to inciting hatred were needed.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
