Rishi Sunak has backed JK Rowling after she challenged Scottish police to use the SNP’s new hate crime laws to arrest her for her views on transgender issues.
The Harry Potter author had said she was looking forward to being arrested after describing a series of transgender women as men on the day the new law came into force.
An SNP minister had earlier admitted that Rowling could be investigated under the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act – which creates a new offence of “stirring up of hatred” for “misgendering” trans people.
However, the Prime Minister gave his support to Rowling saying that the Conservatives would always protect free speech.
He said: “People should not be criminalised for stating simple facts on biology. We believe in free speech in this country, and Conservatives will always protect it.”
He knows he's on to a winner here.
Will this now prompt a comment from Starmer? Perhaps not…
Update: Education Secretary Gillian Keegan joins the pile-on:
JK Rowling should not be arrested for her views on transgender issues because the new Scottish hate crime law is a “terrible piece of legislation”, the Education Secretary has said.
Gillian Keegan defended the Harry Potter author after Humza Yousaf’s SNP Government introduced a new offence of “stirring up hatred” by “misgendering” trans people….
Asked whether Rowling should be arrested, Ms Keegan told Times Radio: “Well, no. As we have said, people shouldn’t be criminalised for just stating biological facts and it does seem odd that I think one of the ministers in Scotland said that you could be arrested for misgendering.
“And I am pretty sure that the police in Scotland, as are the police in England, should be much more focused on fighting crime than policing people’s thoughts.
“So this is, I think, a terrible bit of legislation. It is not something we will be introducing in this country.”
It's an open goal. You can hardly blame the Tories for taking advantage.
Mick Hartley 
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