Wiser Counsel

The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 comes into force on 1 April 2024. It is widely believed to pose an extremely grave threat to freedom of speech not only in Scotland but also further afield, due to its interaction with existing laws which provide for comments made OUTSIDE of Scotland to be prosecutable should they be read by anyone in Scotland, including comments made many years ago.

(Click here for further information on the law.)

My website, based in England, is highly likely to be targeted by malicious and vexatious complaints under the Act from particular groups of anti-free-speech activists seeking to silence it, and to that end I am currently seeking formal legal advice as to whether it will be safe to continue publishing the site and its associated social media accounts after 1 April 2024 without being subjected to unsustainable levels of harassment, including arrest, possible prosecution and the repeated confiscation of all the tools (computers, tablets, phones) needed to do my work, and what steps may be needed to protect the site from such harassment and censorship.

This fundraiser seeks to raise funds to pay for that initial advice and any which may be subsequently required. As a reward, donors can receive one, or a full set, of these enamel badges featuring Scottish cult icon the Hate Monster, in one of two styles (see below, designs may be subject to slight alteration for technical reasons).