Humza Yousaf skewered over hate crime legal guidelines ‘hypocrisy’ by critics | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Humza Yousaf has been skewered for “hypocrisy” by livid critics after an outdated video of an “inflammatory speech” resurfaced within the wake of the SNP’s controversial new Scottish hate crime legal guidelines.

Opponents of the Scottish First Minister have urged he would have been caught out by the brand new legal guidelines after a video from 2020 confirmed his participation in an anti-racism debate.

At the time, Mr Yousaf highlighted the shortage of non-white officers within the authorities ranks and spoke about how, “99 percent of the time”, he was “the only non-white person” within the room throughout authorities conferences.

He mentioned it was a “collective failure” that Black and Ethnic Minority (BAME) Britons have been under-represented in Scotland, however a clip of his speech has sparked an outcry amongst Conservatives.

They have branded the clip, which confirmed the then justice secretary itemizing high-ranking white officers, “inflammatory” and urged it might fly foul of Scotland’s new hate crime legal guidelines.

In the clip, Mr Yousaf could be heard itemizing distinguished Scottish officers and their races, with each particular person listed as “white” following a quick introduction.

David Campbell Bannerman, chairman of the Conservative Democratic Organisation, mentioned the First Minister “must be relieved” to have delivered the speech earlier than his new legislation got here into impact.

He mentioned: “Humza Yousaf must be relieved to have given his inflammatory speech about white people early enough to not be caught by the SNP’s new law against hate crime.

“Being anti-white is simply as racist as different types of racism and is simply as unacceptable.

“These SNP Nationalist Socialists are a danger to all our freedoms and are spreading anti-white and anti-English hatred through their extremism and idiocy.”

The remarks, which have been beforehand branded “blatantly racist” by Elon Musk, sparked requires folks to report the First Minister to Scottish authorities citing the brand new hate crime legislation that handed on Monday.

X person David Atherton claimed “thousands” of individuals have reported the speech to date, and known as on others to observe their lead.

Scotland’s Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 got here into impact on April 1 and makes against the law of “stirring up hatred” based mostly on somebody’s age, incapacity, faith, sexual orientation, transgender identification or being intersex.

Communicating materials or behaving in a fashion a “reasonable person would consider to be threatening or abusive” whereas aspiring to fire up hatred based mostly on the listed protected traits would represent an infraction.

The most penalty beneath the legislation is a seven-year jail sentence, however whereas the bar is decrease than it might have been beforehand beneath the Hate Crime Act, it has a number of free speech provisions.

People can defend their behaviour in the event that they show it was “reasonable”, and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects concepts that “offend, shock or disturb”.

Siobhian Brown, Scotland’s Victims and Community Safety Minister, mentioned: “You have to be really threatening and really abusive, and there has to be reasonable assumption from others that that is the case.”

Judging by these requirements, Mr Yousaf’s speech in parliament wouldn’t fall foul of the brand new legal guidelines, given there have been no threats lodged or abuse given.

Despite being judged as a “fairly safe piece of legislation” by Adam Tomkins, a conservative MSP turned Glasgow legislation professor, considerations stay in regards to the legislation’s potential impacts on freedom of speech.

Express.co.uk has contacted the First Minister’s workplace for remark.