Complaint
The programme included a phone-in discussion on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act.  A representative of the Scottish government complained that, on two occasions, the presenter had mischaracterised the Act as criminalising derogatory comments based on the characteristics of the groups to which it provided protection, and that the inaccuracy should have been acknowledged and corrected on air, rather than by a posting on the ±«Óãtv complaints website. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the ±«Óãtv’s editorial standards relating to accuracy and correcting errors.
Outcome
The ECU accepted that the presenter’s characterisation of the Act did not meet the ±«Óãtv’s standards of due accuracy; to fall foul of the Act’s provisions, the material or behaviour concerned must be both threatening or abusive and intended to stir up hatred. The ECU noted, however, that the discussion included an early contribution from a legal expert who correctly set out the formal criteria required for an offence to have been committed under the Act, and that it went on to focus as much on the problem the Act sought to address and where theoretically the line should be drawn on what is and is not acceptable as it did on the exact wording of the legislation. It would have been clear to listeners therefore that there was a dispute over whether the mere act of speaking derogatory words about a protected group would be sufficient for the Police to invoke the new legislation. In those circumstances, and whilst it was certainly appropriate to acknowledge and correct on the public record the inaccuracy which had been broadcast, I do not think it likely to have misled listeners to an extent which would require a broadcast correction
Resolved