PRESS RELEASE

Thursday 23 June 2011

A court case against the Scottish Government has been halted, following news that the Sectarianism Bill will be delayed by six months.

The legal action was taken by The Christian Institute and CARE for Scotland, amid concern that the Bill was being rushed through without proper public consultation.

The two groups are concerned that civil liberty and free speech could be inadvertently caught by the Bill.

The Court of Session was due to hear the case tomorrow (Friday 24 June), but that will no longer be necessary.

Christian Institute spokesman Mike Judge said: “We welcome news of the delay. It is in everybody’s interests that this important issue is not rushed.

“We very much hope there will now be proper public consultation and scrutiny so that the free speech and civil liberty problems can be addressed.”

Dr Gordon Macdonald of CARE for Scotland said: “We welcome the Scottish Government’s decision to listen to the concerns that were being expressed regarding the Bill.

“We look forward to working with the Scottish Parliament to ensure this legislation is improved significantly in order to protect freedom of speech and religious liberty whilst dealing effectively with the problem of sectarianism.”