I HAVE written about it before in this column but as it continues to progress through the Scottish Parliament at pace, under the direction of the Scottish Government, the threat it poses continues to grow and its opponents multiply. . . the Hate Crime Bill.

In the past week a whole host of organisations from a wide cross section of Scottish life have come forward to oppose the Hate Crime Bill, in response to the public consultation on the legislation.

These include the Law Society of Scotland who warned that the bill threatens freedom of speech.

The Law Society of Scotland are the organisation which represents the legal profession in Scotland. They believe that the lack of clarity I wrote of previously could threaten freedom of speech and they have ‘significant reservations’ regarding several of the bill’s provisions.

Another organisation is the Scottish Police Federation (SPF); they represent all of Scotland’s police. They are seriously concerned that the bill could ‘devastate’ the relationship between the police and the public.

Calum Steele, the general secretary of the SPF, said the proposed legislation would see officers policing speech and thought,with possible devastating consequences for the legitimacy of the police in the eyes of the public.

The final organisation that has come forward is the Catholic Church in Scotland, which has warned the Bible could fall foul of the legislation.

The Church has spoken of its fears the Bible could be classed as ‘inflammatory’ under the proposed legislation and could risk being criminalised and removed from libraries.

Now whether or not that is the plan of the Scottish Government, I seriously doubt it is; but you cannot write laws around speech and thought, around the idea that anyone in power can be trusted to act in good faith and within the intended spirit.

If you are concerned about this bill, as I am, I would encourage you to write to your MSPs and make your thoughts clear. It is important genuine hate crime should be punished, but this law goes too far.

You may have read in the Courier last week about my taking over the leadership of the Conservative Group on the council; it is an honour to take the role and one I look forward too.

I would like to give public thanks to my predecessor, Councillor Jane Henderson, who has been a rock in the role these past couple of years during some hard times and she leaves me a big hole to fill.