On Monday, the Scottish government introduced the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act. It is intended to consolidate existing hate crime laws, and also creates a new offence of “threatening or abusive behaviour which is intended to stir up hatred” on the grounds of disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, transgender identity and variations in sex characteristics.
Libby Brooks, the Guardian’s Scotland correspondent, tells Hannah Moore what this change to legislation means for marginalised groups and why there have been concerns from the police and critics who worry that the law limits freedom of expression.
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