A former adviser to Alex Salmond has dismissed the SNP Government’s Hate Crime Bill as “ill conceived, badly drafted and ultimately unloved”.
Alex Bell also said the SNP needs “better policy and better people” and blasted “group think” in the party.
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf is under pressure over the forthcoming Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill.
Critics say the Bill’s new offences relating to “stirring up hatred” could stifle freedom of expression.
Around 2,000 people have responded to a consultation on the proposals - the highest number of responses in this session of the Scottish Parliament.
Yousaf has acknowledged there are “legitimate concerns” about the Bill and believes these can be addressed in the coming months.
Bell, who was Salmond’s head of policy in the Scottish Government, has heavily criticised the proposals.
In a column for the Courier, he wrote:
“It’s not that the Hate Crime Bill is wrong – it is. Nor that it will be watered down – it will. It’s that nobody passionately cares for it in the first place that matters.
“Yet another piece of SNP legislation ill conceived, badly drafted and ultimately unloved. If Bills were children, the Scottish Government would have filled an orphanage by now.”
He continued: “At one level, this is an issue about the drafting of legislation. Something is going very wrong when so many good intentions get snarled up in bad language and law.
“At another, it’s about a group think in the dominant political party. The SNP have a tendency to like everything the leadership says, up until the official story is changed, then nobody remembers.”
He added: “The Nats need better policy and better people. Ironically, they also need to care more about the quality of Scotland, not the quantity of its promise.”
A Conservative attempt to ditch the controversial new legislation was voted down in the Scottish Parliament yesterday.
However MSPs voted by 31 to 30 for an amendment which would instead “improve” the Bill as part of the normal parliamentary process.
Tory MSP Liam Kerr said: “Even former Scottish Government advisers can see this legislation is deeply flawed.
“It’s yet another example of the SNP crashing ahead with something in the face of widespread criticism from almost every section of society.
“The SNP government needs to swallow its pride and admit it got it wrong with the Hate Crime Bill."
A spokesperson for Yousaf said: “Hate crime is a significant problem with Police Scotland recording 6,736 hate crimes in 2017-18 and 886 – an average of around 17 a week – being common assaults fuelled by prejudice.
“MSPs showed they want improved legislation by joining equality and human rights campaigners, and those supporting victims of crime, backing the need for the Hate Crime Bill. As we have previously made clear, changes will be seriously considered to the Bill to address concerns raised.
“All MSPs should now continue to work to send a clear message that hateful behaviour has no place in modern Scotland.”
