Kirkcaldy ‘controversial’ stickers: No law broken after complaint of hate crime

A police probe into “controversial stickers” in a Kirkcaldy street which said “women won’t be wheesht” has ruled no laws were broken.

They were put on lamp posts in Viewforth Avenue, resulting in a complaint, and a message on Twitter which then sparked a social media storm.

Kirkcaldy Police tweeted it had received a report of a hate crime and described the stickers as “controversial.”

It also asked people to contact Fife Council so they could be removed.

The stickers placed on lamp posts in one Kirkcaldy street sparked a huge social media backlash (Pic: Fife Free Press)

The tweet, since deleted, received a huge backlash.

The stickers promoted the Twitter account of @fairplayforwomen - a campaign group dedicated to defending the sex-based rights of women and girls, although it did not put them up.

https://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/kathleen-ritchie-police-in-fife-confirm-body-of-a-woman-has-been-found-in-glenrothes-near-a-footpath-on-ivanhoe-drive-following-disappearance-of-kathleen-ritchie-3247381

https://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/transport/council-spends-ps10000-scrapping-20mph-limit-on-fife-road-because-drivers-ignored-it-3245342

The tweet posted by Kirkcaldy Police

The stickers were confined, almost entirely, to one residential street in Kirkcaldy, and, on Sunday, it was clear that larger poster versions had been removed from all lamp posts.

The stickers included hashtags referring to war on woman, sex not gender and referenced the Scottish Government’s controversial new Hate Crime Bill.

It was created to bring together various existing hate crime laws into a single piece of legislation.

Offences are considered “aggravated” if they involve prejudice on the basis of age, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity.

Critics of the new law said it could damage free speech rights.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman confirmed it had received a report of a hate incident involving stickers in the Viewforth Avenue area around 9.15am on Monday May 17.

They added: “Inquiries were carried out and no criminality has been established.”

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