Police face furious backlash in row over swastika hate crime

Police Scotland was last night embroiled in an extraordinary hate crime row amid claims a woman who reported an anti-Semitic Facebook post ended up being quizzed about her own ethnicity.

A former police officer reported the post, which depicts a Nazi swastika within a Star of David, to the force but claims she was told no charges would be brought because she is not herself Jewish.

The post, made by a relative of an SNP minister we have chosen not to name, is captioned ‘Nazism = Zionism’.

The woman, who does not wish to be identified for fear of reprisals, said she alerted Police Scotland – but claimed that she was then quizzed about her own background.

Within an hour of giving a statement on Saturday, she said officers told her that the complaint was being discarded because she is not Jewish.

Under the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, an allegation may be reported by anyone.

And the test of whether a crime has been committed is if a ‘reasonable person would consider the communication of the material to be likely to result in hatred being stirred up against a group’, which includes a nationality or religion.

The woman said that she informed police on Thursday and was invited to make a statement on Saturday at her local station in Lanarkshire.

She said: ‘They were very much for not taking the complaint at all. One said, “We’re snowed under with all these complaints. How are we supposed to get through all these?” I said, “That’s not my problem. The First Minister has said he wants people to report these things; he’s very keen for everything to be reported”.

‘The officer called me later that afternoon. He said, “Can I ask you, are you Jewish?” I said no. He said, “I’m going to ask you again; it’s just because I need the box ticked. Do you identify as being Jewish?” I said no, I’m not going to lie to get anybody charged.

‘He said, “Well, that falls outwith the parameters. It won’t be moving forward as a crime. It will be logged as an incident, but it will not be going further criminally”.’

Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis constitutes anti-Semitism under the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of the word.

The Scottish Government adopted the definition in 2017.

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Russell Findlay said: ‘This vile anti-Semitic post appears to be a genuine crime motivated by hatred and which would therefore merit an appropriate policing response.

‘It is deeply concerning if such cases are being lost amidst the vast deluge of spurious complaints being made to police from those who are weaponising Humza Yousaf’s hate crime law.’

Mr Findlay added: ‘It is concerning that this material appears to have been posted by a close relative of an SNP government minister.

‘For the sake of public confidence in the police, it is now all the more important that officers are seen to be applying the law consistently.’

The image at the centre of the row was shared by a Facebook user in Renfrewshire last Monday, hours after the hate crime laws came into force.

Sammy Stein of Glasgow Friends of Israel said: ‘In the current climate, many Jewish people will be afraid to make complaints in case they have to give evidence in court and are identified.

‘So it is important that Police Scotland takes seriously and investigates anti-Semitism no matter who brings it to their attention. The law itself makes no distinction. I do not think for a minute Police Scotland is being partial, but I wonder whether, with the weight of complaints, a rather amateurish attempt has been made to get rid of some.’

The complainant told the Mail she was interviewed for 30 minutes by two constables.

The woman attended a vigil in Glasgow for the Gaza hostages earlier this year and made friends with Jewish people she met.

One showed her the Facebook post last week, prompting her police report.

She said: ‘I’m not a political activist, but I do hate anti-Semitism. People on a Saturday are going into Glasgow and shouting: “Death to this” and “Death to that”. This mentality existed before, but it has been enabled and allowed to fester in the last six months.

‘We need to nip this behaviour in the bud. It’s like going back almost 100 years to central Europe. It’s being allowed and nobody’s standing up. I am offended, and I’m not Jewish.’

She stressed she did not report the post because it was made by a minister’s relative.

The woman said: ‘Did it influence my decision? No, because no matter who, I will report it. I said to the police, I’m not a political activist, I’m not scouring posts to see something.

‘At the end of the day, he is surely a respected member of his community if his relative’s a minister.

‘Surely there’s an element there that tells you that you shouldn’t be doing that. You should be switched on enough to know this is unacceptable.’

Police Scotland said it was unable to comment on the woman’s claim that the Facebook post was not being treated as a crime because she is not Jewish.

A spokesman said: ‘We received a report of offensive content online, which is being investigated. Inquiries are ongoing.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We have worked with partners, including Police Scotland, to ensure effective implementation of the Act, and the timetable for commencement has allowed for the delivery of a robust package of training and guidance for police officers.

‘Training officers is an operational matter to Police Scotland.’