JK Rowling is wasting police time with hate law ‘provocations’, suggests SNP

People ‘testing boundaries of legislation’ are in fact attacking Scottish values, says Holyrood’s equalities committee convener

A senior SNP politician has accused JK Rowling of wasting police time and attacking Scottish “societal values” by testing new hate crime laws.
Karen Adam, who is convener of Holyrood’s equalities committee, launched a thinly veiled attack on the Harry Potter author in a defence of Humza Yousaf’s controversial legislation, which she hailed as an “incredible example of our commitment to justice”.
On the first day that the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act came into force, Rowling deliberately “misgendered” a series of high-profile trans women, calling them men and challenging Police Scotland to arrest her.
The force declined to do so after receiving complaints, ruling that she had not committed a crime with her deliberately provocative social media posts on X, formerly Twitter.
Writing in her column in The National, a pro-independence newspaper, Ms Adam took aim at “deliberate provocations seen in recent times where individuals had tested the boundaries of the legislation”.
She added: “[They] do more than just waste police time, they strike at the very core of our societal values.
“These actions aren’t just about challenging a legal framework, they question our collective resolve to build a community where hatred finds no home.”
Ms Adam went on to warn that while people were free to speak as they wished, they could not do so free from “consequences”.
She raised the case of a trans constituent who had told her of the “discrimination and fear” they experienced due to dehumanising “online debates over their life”.
She added: “Freedom of speech is indeed a cherished principle, vital to the being of our democracy – but it’s not absolute. It comes with the responsibility to not harm others intentionally.”
Rowling has been praised by campaigners who share her views on gender for her intervention, with many women seeing it as an attempt to protect those without her power or wealth, whom police may be quicker to prosecute.
After Police Scotland said she had not committed a crime, Rowling said: “I hope every woman in Scotland who wishes to speak up for the reality and importance of biological sex will be reassured by this announcement, and I trust that all women – irrespective of profile or financial means – will be treated equally under the law.”
Reacting to Ms Adam’s comments, Russell Findlay, justice spokesman for the Scottish Tories, said: “Even for the SNP, attacking a prominent women’s rights campaigner for seeking to clarify Humza Yousaf’s chaotic hate crime law is cheap.
“Preaching about so-called ‘societal values’ does nothing to address the reality which is that this disastrous legislation risks free speech and is putting police officers under massive pressure.
“The SNP had three years to address concerns but chose to ignore them and have then been responsible for peddling misinformation to the public while falsely accusing opponents of doing so. They need a reality check.”