The prime minister has said people should not be criminalised “for stating simple facts on biology”, as he backed JK Rowling in her criticism of new hate crime laws. The author took to social media to hit out at the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act which came into effect on Monday.
The law creates a new crime of “stirring up hatred” relating to protected characteristics. Rishi Sunak said his party would “always protect” free speech.
In a statement given to The Daily Telegraph, the prime minister said: “People should not be criminalised for stating simple facts on biology.
“We believe in free speech in this country, and Conservatives will always protect it.” Under the new law, “stirring up hatred” relating to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or being intersex is now classed as a criminal offence.
First Minister Humza Yousaf said the law was designed to deal with what he called a “rising tide of hatred” in society. In a series of social media posts, JK Rowling described several transgender women as men, including convicted prisoners, trans activists and other public figures.
The Harry Potter author, who lives in Edinburgh, then invited police to arrest her if they believed she had committed an offence. On X, she said “freedom of speech and belief” was at an end if accurate description of biological sex was outlawed.
Ms Rowling, who has long been a critic of some trans activism, raised concerns that the law did not protect women as a group from hatred. The Scottish government is expected to include this later in a separate misogyny law.
Source: BBC
In other news – Prince Harry has some explaining to do in May 2024
Experts believe Prince Harry has a lot of explaining he’ll need to do in May once he returns back for the Invictus Games. Royal writer Tom Quinn issued these sentiments about Prince Harry. Be weighed in on everything during one of his most recent interviews with The Mirror.
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