THE First Minister has hit back at a Tory MSP who accused Police Scotland of “political bias” for recording a hate incident after he likened being non-binary to identifying “as a cat”.
Murdo Fraser had a “non-crime hate incident” recorded against his name for the comment, which was made in a post on Twitter/X in November 2023.
On Wednesday, the police force said they would not be adding similar records after tweets sent by JK Rowling in which she labelled trans woman as men, or for a four-year-old Holyrood speech in which Humza Yousaf highlighted a lack of diversity in high-powered roles in Scotland.
Referring to Rowling specifically, a spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “The circumstances have been assessed and will not be recorded as a non-crime hate incident.”
READ MORE: Hate Crime Act 'likely to enhance, not limit freedoms', barrister argues
A non-crime hate incident is recorded when an incident does not meet the threshold for a crime but is perceived to be “motivated (wholly or partly) by malice and ill-will towards a social group”, according to Police Scotland guidance.
Fraser claimed he had been treated differently due to his politics.
The Tory MSP said: “They have taken a different approach to comments made by the SNP First Minister to those made by an opposition politician.
“It is hard not to conclude that Police Scotland has been captured by the SNP policy agenda and that this is a decision that reeks of political bias.”
Yousaf (above) branded Fraser’s comments “ludicrous” when asked about them by MFR News during a visit to Dingwall on Thursday.
He said: “I think it's ludicrous to suggest that police have political bias. I think it's very insulting to police officers up and down the country.
“I think anybody looking objectively over the last year couldn't possibly make the argument that there's been police bias towards the SNP or any political party. It's a ridiculous statement to make.
“So I think Murdo Fraser, instead of attacking the police, should let them get on with the job that they've got to do.”
Yousaf further told reporters in Dingwall that the recording of non-crime hate incidents was a matter for the police – but added that their policy was being reviewed.
The SNP leader said: “In terms of questions around non-crime hate incidents that are being recorded, it's for the police to determine that.
“I understand that they are looking at the changes that were made in England and Wales recently and reviewing their own procedures in that respect.”
Police Scotland is currently probing the SNP as part of “Operation Branchform”, a three-year investigation into how £600,000 of crowdfunding for campaigning for Scottish independence was spent.
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