The Public Order Act 1986 has an exception: > It is a defence if you are inside a dwelling and had no reason to believe the the words or behaviour used would c

The Public Order Act 1986 has an exception: > It is a defence if you are inside a dwelling and had no reason to believe the the words or behaviour used would cause or would be heard or seen a person outside. I believe the argument being made in the reading of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill is essentially that you can still commit a hate crime in private. Which seems fairly obvious —assuming you subscribe to the notion of hate crimes— but never expect the Times to see things with that sort of resolution.