© Independent
Across the UK media, including BBC News at 1, and in the Independent, today:
‘Religious hate crime rises 40% in England and Wales – with more than half directed at Muslims’
‘New statistics released by the Home Office said more than half of religiously-motivated attacks in 2017-18 were directed at Muslims and the next most-commonly targeted group was Jewish people. Police recorded a total of 94,098 hate crime offences – more than double the total five years ago – and all categories saw a rise.’
By 1.30pm, Reporting Scotland had still not managed to find even a single case of an anti- Muslim hate crime in Scotland. Maybe Anas Sarwar was otherwise engaged? Let’s see if they manage something by 6.30pm or even later today.
It’s clearly very important that Reporting Scotland, with or without the assistance of the UK parties in Scotland, are able to present a story of hate crime to remind us that we are no better and certainly no different from our fellow Brits.
The Aberdeen Express is onto it already by just ignoring the content of the story:
Here’s the most recent, June 2018, data for Scotland:
From the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service press release on Hate Crime in Scotland, 2017/18: Racial crime – 3,249 charges reported in 2017-18, 4% less than in 2016-17 – 9% less than the peak in 2011-12, lowest number reported since 2003-04.
http://www.copfs.gov.uk/media-site/media-releases/1765-hate-crime-in-scotland-2017-18
BBC News desk: Anonymous caller on the line with a report that the BBC carried out a hate crime against the elderly in the case of Prof Robertson in 2014. Want it? No? Send it to BBC Salford? Why? See this:
Talking-up Scotland 
This is a bit of a problem. How do you create something that’s anti-Scottish-government when the numbers don’t show a trend that would damage the SNP?
Two tried and tested propaganda tricks, I’d suggest the BBC could do in this situation.
1. Don’t mention the fall in hate crime in Scotland. Just quote the number of incidents, but present it in the context of the rising trend in England. That way it will look like the rising trend is in Scotland too.
2. Get someone who hates the SNP to criticise the Scottish government anyway. They can refer to any incident at all (except any associated with Labour or Tories) and demand that more needs to be done. Same result as above to hide the trend and create a false impression.
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I’m just off to watch it. Will they disappoint us?
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I should imagine Reporting Scotland at 6.30pm will go with the winter deaths story which is on the main section of their news website as well as the Scottish section.
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Probably but a case of Islamophobia would suit them well.
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