Fury as hated new SNP law compared to 'Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia'

An incensed Scottish pensioner has written an open letter and recorded an angry video message, directed at First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf.

Callum Kenmuir’s written and video messages came in response to the SNP’s new Hate Crime Act, which is due to come into force on April 1, 2024.

The Act, which was given royal assent on April 23 2021, is highly controversial and Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has expressed concern that it could result in “innocent people being prosecuted”.

However, Mr Yousaf, who became Scottish Health Secretary a month after the Hate Crime Act got royal assent, defended the new law, saying there has been “a lot of disinformation” about it.

There are concerns from many quarters, including from Rishi Sunak and X boss Elon Musk, that comedians, artists and others will be targeted under the new law.

In particular, there is concern from gender-critical feminists - those that advocate for single-sex spaces exclusively for biological women - that the new law will be used to prosecute them for expressing their beliefs.

However, Police Scotland chief constable, Jo Farrell, told a meeting of the Scottish Police Authority that the law would be enforced “in a measured way” with officers “using their discretion and their common sense”.

However, Mr Kenmuir believes the new law is an example of increasing draconianism under the SNP.

Writing to Scottish Daily Express, GB News and BBC Scotland, he said: “I am writing to protest against the Hate Crime Act that will be enforced from April 1, 2024. The first problem I have with it is the use of the word “hate”, which means to loathe or detest.

“What it does not mean is to voice an opinion contradictory to Scottish Government policy, but the SNP/Green Party government now intends to punish people for voicing their opposition.

“The worst aspect of this is that it includes critical remarks made in the privacy of one's own home as well as in public. To encourage the Scottish people to inform on one another by reporting remarks to the police is despicable. You can easily see who are the haters in this scenario.”

The 78-year-old said the new law would put Scotland on the same footing as some of the grimmest totalitarian regimes of the 20th century.

He added: “Sending Police Scotland to interrogate, arrest, prosecute and even jail people who speak against Government policy is to put Scotland on a par with Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia.

“This pernicious Bill spits on the graves of the generation that fought from 1939 to 1945 to free Europe from Nazi tyranny. My father and uncles served in the armed forces and I deeply resent any interference with the democracy that the men and women of that time saved for all of us.

“The effect of this wicked, dictatorial Bill is to strip the Scottish people of their democratic civil right to freedom of speech. This is utterly unacceptable.”

Invoking Scottish’s people’s history of liberal democratic principles that have become the cornerstone of western civilisation, he added: “When one looks at the positive contribution made to the world by many Scots from the time of the Enlightenment onwards, one realises just how far the country has fallen in the present day.

“The likes of Robert Burns, David Hume and Adam Smith would be horrified by the SNP/Green government's deplorable attack on the very people they are elected to serve and protect.

“For myself, I will continue to air my opinions on current affairs and to make comments online as I see fit. I absolutely refuse to be denied my civil rights, so if you want to send the police to harass and interrogate me, crack on. I doubt you will win any supporters by browbeating a 78-year old man.

“I can only hope that forthcoming elections will put an emphatic end to this authoritarian SNP/Green government and I demand that its successor will repeal this anti free speech Bill and consign it to the dustbin where it belongs.”

Express.co.uk has contacted the SNP for comment.