Scotland’s Police Federation has said officers are overwhelmed dealing with thousands of alleged hate crime offences after the controversial new rules became enacted in the country.
When the laws were being drafted, Christian groups raised many concerns, warning that the proposals would erode free speech and could be exploited by campaigners to silence their ideological opponents.
The laws are now in force, and they remain highly controversial, but significant amendments were made to the original bill.
The amendments stop it posing a major threat to evangelism and Christian comment on sexual ethics, following a campaign by The Christian Institute-backed group Free to Disagree.
