Bigot bill ‘could make the law look like an ass’

Professor Tom Devine told MSPs that the sectarian problem is part of the “fabric of Scotia” and extends beyond football stadiums.

Existing laws are “perfectly adequate” to crack down on the conduct targeted by the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill, the academic added.

Scotland is the only country in the world with specific anti-sectarian legislation on its statute book after religious aggravations were introduced in 2003, Holyrood’s justice committee heard yesterday.

“That suggests to me that Scotland has a distinctive and special problem in relation to the original issue which caused the [Jack] McConnell government to move into this area,” he said.

“My fear is that if you spread and dilute, you will lose the focus on what I would call, not Scotland’s shame, but the Scottish problem which needs to be tackled.”

The new bill was announced in the aftermath of the trouble on and off the field involving Rangers and Celtic last season. This included the “shame game” at Parkhead, when coaches Neil Lennon and Ally McCoist clashed on the touchline, and while suspicious packages were sent to Lennon and high-profile Celtic supporters.

It is aimed at cracking down on bigotry inside and outside of grounds, but its terms refer only to offensive behaviour, not sectarianism, committee convenor Christine Grahame said yesterday.

Prof Devine cited the example of Celtic supporters going south to watch their team play Manchester United and singing songs which they think deal with Irish freedom or British oppression.

“Is that offensive or is it a statement of political belief?” he said.

“This is the difficult territory that this proposed legislation has entered, and is in danger in my view of bringing Scots law in this area into possible disrepute.”

The academic said a law originally designed to tackle sectarianism had been broadened to include offensive behaviour motivated by colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origins.

“The other areas are perhaps of legitimate concern, but these areas are particularly controversial, ambiguous, and the legal process will perhaps end up looking like an ass,” he said.

It would be “premature” to draft legislation without detailed empirical evidence on the root causes of the problem, the historian added.

He said there has only been one official study in this area in recent years – a 2004 Crown Office report titled Investigation and Reporting of Sectarian/Religiously Aggravated Crime – which Prof Devine described as “minimalist”.

This study looked into the first six months of the implementation of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 and found that only 14 per cent of incidents took place at football matches.

Prof Devine said this “refutes” the claim that the issue is restricted to football.

“That’s saying to us that those incidents don’t occur where you might expect in the marching season and at football matches,” he said.

“They’re part of the fabric of many parts of Scotia – the problem is society,” he added.

He said Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland is currently compiling a more extensive report into all religious crimes from 2003 to the present.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman last night defended the legislation.

She said: “Racism, bigotry and sectarianism have no place in Scotland, and those who perpetrate such behaviour will be punished through the full force of the law. These new laws will send out a clear message that there is no place for bigots in a modern-day Scotland.

“If approved, anyone who peddles sectarian hatred – in any football stadium in Scotland, on the way to or from a game, or hiding behind a computer screen – could now face up to five years in jail.”