Free speech campaigners are disgusted by Police Scotland’s decision to arrest and charge a man after he posted an offensive tweet about the late Captain Sir Tom Moore. Joseph Kelly will appear at Lanark Sheriff Court accused of communications offences. Shortly after it was announced that Captain Sir Tom had passed away, Kelly tweeted “The only good Brit soldier is a deed one, burn auld fella, buuuuurn.”
A spokesman for Police Scotland said:
“On Friday we received a report of an offensive tweet about Sir Captain Tom Moore who died on Tuesday February 2. A 35-year-old man has subsequently been arrested and charged in connection with communication offences and is due to appear at Lanark Sheriff Court on Wednesday, February 17.”
The timing of Kelly’s arrest and charging is very interesting. Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP is introducing a new hate crime bill that will criminalise “stirring up hatred.” Thomas Ross, QC is a vocal opponent of the proposed hate crime laws. He is worried that Scots wouldn’t know if they were committing a crime when putting forward an opinion on a controversial subject. Ross said:
“If the Scottish Government is going to create an offence that can be committed unintentionally, drafters of the legislation have to make the essentials of the offence crystal clear. They’ve failed to do that. The language used in the Bill is so difficult to understand that it will be impossible for the man or woman in the street to know when the line is likely to be crossed. A person might think, “I don’t intend to be offensive and I don’t think this comment is abusive, but what might a mythical sheriff think about it if the procurator fiscal is persuaded to prosecute? Why take the chance.”
Captain Sir Tom Moore raised millions for the NHS with the best of intentions. I bet he was quite someone to know. Joseph Kelly is a world class fuckwit. I’m sorry, but he is. What a doughnut. I imagine if one of Tom’s relatives saw the tweet, they’d have been mortified. But the idea that the state has a duty to protect its citizens from being offended is outlandish and Orwellian. What next, you get arrested for calling someone an arsehole on Twitter?
The man behind the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill, Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf, wants to prosecute people for remarks made at their own dinner table. He said that there should be no “dwelling defence” in his bill. He told the Scottish parliament’s justice committee that children, family and house guests must be protected from hate speech.
He told MSPs: “Are we comfortable giving a defence to somebody whose behaviour is threatening or abusive which is intentionally stirring up hatred against, for example, Muslims? Are we saying that that is justified because that is in the home? . . . If your intention was to stir up hatred against Jews . . . then I think that deserves criminal sanction.”
Time to throw out Alexa? Maybe, just maybe.
